Hey, look. I'm back. Guess I lied when I said I was going to finish it before the end of the school year. It got chaotic right after that, and I'm sorry for the wait. Over a year and only five chapters out? I'm ashamed of myself. I'll try to update more, but here it is for now!
Dark King of the North: Thank you, and here's an update.
AlphaWolf69: Yeah, thanks about the French. My friend and I speak different languages, she does French and I do Spanish. Spanish doesn't quite work for Lily, I don't think, but her French does for Narcissa. And no. No 'L' word yet...much too soon.I present to you, though, the next chapter.
DeMoKa: New pairing? Yay! That's cool. I'm glad you're actually interested, here's the next part.
cloudyday2173: Thank you. I'm glad you think it's cute. Enjoy this chapter.
surfie-aussie-chick: I'm glad that you started reading this. Thank you for all four reviews. The request in the author's note at the bottom for a specific confusing part, that's for you. I was hoping to clarify whatever confused you in chapter three. Your string of reviews really brightened my day and kicked me into putting out this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
Narcissa got it good when she finally met Bellatrix in the Slytherin dorms that evening, and she took it with the grace and submission she'd been taught to. Bellatrix kept awake that night watching her sister with a suspicious glare. Narcissa slept soundly.
Lily slept well enough, and the next morning she was at breakfast again with her normal friends, but this time James sat away from her.
The Marauders didn't seem to understand what was going on with their leader and his 'girlfriend'-he had claimed her inaccurately for years-but it made the whole group awkward as the conversation was strained, Sirius just sat there making snide remarks about the Slytherins—if only to keep the group from being completely silent.
Lily crossed her legs and drank her orange juice hardly paying any attention unless the words "Black", "Narcissa", or "Malfoy" slipped from Sirius's mouth—which was a rather frequent occurrence as he poked fun at the Slytherins.
Narcissa was composed and pretty at breakfast, Bellatrix sulking a bit at her side. She sat with Malfoy and laughed politely at his jokes, mostly they were at Lily's expense.
Narcissa tapped her fingers idly, nibbling on a bit of toast and jam before declaring herself satiated. Bellatrix surprised them all with a sudden suggestion. "Je pense qu'il est temps pour un polisson. Narcissa, vous si le suprise nous. Rendez-le bon, belle." (AN: 1)
Bellatrix set her cold gaze on Lily, smirking a bit. "I know just the one. What do you say, Malfoy?" He grinned, twining an arm around Narcissa's waist and pulling her closer. "Ma petite will give quite the show, I've no doubts." Narcissa smiled, nails raking against the wood under the table. "Excellent idea."
Bellatrix stole Malfoy's favorite position as they all stood to go to class, twining an arm around her sister's waist and purring into her ear. "Don't let us down, Cissa."
Class was about to start and Lily stood up before her friends, slipping toward the door and heading for their charms class.
Lily somehow kept just far enough ahead of the Marauders. She didn't want anything to do with them, she hadn't come to a conclusion about what was happening with her...and she just needed to be away again.
Narcissa started to trail off, but Bellatrix was suddenly holding her tight, fingers digging into her a bit painfully. She smiled and shrugged a shoulder, allowing herself to be lead. After their break, she got to potions class early, murmuring a spell to unlock the door and slipping in the empty class. She bit her lower lip and shut the door behind her, stepping lightly to Lily's cauldron and kneeling to switch out a few of her ingredients. She shut the door behind her on the way out, relocking it, and went to stand with a smug Bellatrix.
Lily walked up to the class just then, her entourage all strangely silent. Even Sirius had finally caught that something serious was up with James and 'his girl'. Lily noticed Narcissa and forced herself to look away. Not like Narcissa will push in front of everyone. She told herself, but the back of her mind spoke when she least wanted it to. Oh, but she will push when nobody's around...which you would have thought impossible not even a week ago... When the teacher unlocked the door, she hurried to her cauldron.
Narcissa examined her nails and smirked at something Bellatrix whispered in her ear. The two of them, joined by Malfoy, slid to their seats at the last possible moment.
Lily waited for the instructions as she worked with James and Sirius again. This time, though, they were all silent aside from when Lily gave orders to complete the potion they were assigned.
Bellatrix glanced slyly over at Malfoy, elbows propped up on the table in front of her as Narcissa went calmly about completing their potion. She didn't say a word, though she obediently glanced to Malfoy and smiled when Bellatrix's foot jabbed her leg under the table.
About ten minutes before the end of class, the potion was yellow and silver bubbles rose to the top every ten or fifteen seconds, like the directions said and finally one of the two males spoke...it was Sirius. "Thanks, Lily. We'd have botched it up again without your help." Lily just nodded, trying to keep her eyes from Narcissa, where they seemed to find themselves every minute or two...sometimes she'd keep herself from looking for three. The girl was an enigma to her, and she just wanted to sort out what was happening.
Narcissa bit her lower lip and walked quietly to Malfoy, letting him slide and arm around her hips as she bent to test his potion. Bellatrix glanced to her, catching her gaze, a slow fury threatening to break in her eyes. Narcissa glanced down at her hand, holding up three fingers. Bellatrix followed her gaze. A second went by, and Narcissa curled up a finger, another second and another finger. Bellatrix grinned as the last finger went down. Right on cue, Lily's cauldron promptly exploded, sending anyone close enough to be working on it flying back and leaving a handful of people dyed a different color. James was pink, Sirius was purple, Remus was bright yellow, and Lily was a horrid shade of green. Bellatrix and Malfoy both burst out laughing.
Bellatrix was practically howling with laughter, Malfoy a little more reserved but no less entertained. Narcissa managed to force a smirk. The dye wouldn't fade for two weeks and three days. It was quite brilliant, actually...rearranging molecules and what not. Dangerous. Narcissa had invented it herself, she doubted anyone unfamiliar with the way it worked would be able to find a reversal in less than three weeks. She sighed.
Narcissa pretended to adore Malfoy's purred praises, and smiled almost shyly when even Bellatrix declared it a job well done. Neither of them even seemed too bothered when she slipped off to the prefect's bathroom to hit the wall until her knuckles bled.
Lily shuddered and screamed. James, Sirius and Lupin all snarled—the last two may have growled, it was difficult to be certain. Sarah and Pettigrew had hidden behind him and that's why they weren't colored at all.
The professor shook his head." I guess that means sixty-five points from Gryffindor—twenty each for those of you working on it, and another five for Remus having to go to the infirmary to get fixed as well. Go. Go." He shooed them off. "Oh, and a zero on today's project."
The group trudged up to the infirmary and the nurse went to work. She shook her head. "I can't do anything but dim the color... I'm sorry to say you'll have to go to classes tinted..."
Lily sighed and left the infirmary a light green. She wished she could do something about it. She knew Narcissa had done it! She had to! A heavier sigh escapes her as she ditches the boys, hearing a faint, but semi-familiar sound from the bathroom.
Narcissa stared at her hands and cursed; Bella would notice if she left it. She took out her wand and carefully cooed the healing spells necessary, rubbing her knuckles once done and turning to lean against the wall, eyes closed. A hand idly slipped to her pocket, and she rolled a small silver bottle back and forth across her palm—the reversing potion.
Lily slipped into the room and this time it was she who checked they were alone. She locked the door, the first noise she made after entering the room, and then turned to Narcissa. "It was you, wasn't it?"
Narcissa arched an eyebrow, clutching the bottle for a moment, and then letting it go. Bella would know. She slid her hand from her pocket and folded her arms. "You don't think Bellatrix could have come up with something so complicated, do you?"
Lily shook her head. "Nor do I think Malfoy could have...that's why I had to check that it was you..." She looked away. "Why me? Why my cauldron?"
Narcissa sneered. "Because you need to be taught a lesson." Bellatrix's words. Mudbloods had no right to be good at magic; in fact Bellatrix was convinced that somehow Lily must have been cheating.
Lily scoffed softly. "Oh? I need to be taught a lesson? For what? About what?"
"For pretending to be better than what you are. You continue to step off your place." She knew this lecture by heart; Bellatrix hated Lily…
Lily shook her head. "'Pretending to be better than what I am'? Please tell me how I do that and how I 'step off my place'."
"You're a-...you're impure. You're too full of yourself, too good in class, too studious. Your place is not in this world, and if you must be here, then you should be groveling at the feet of your superiors, those who are of pure decent. Untainted." She nodded, almost bored with the explanation.
Lily shook her head. "I can't help that I wasn't born into a pureblood family... If you want to really learn about someone's character, you should see how they treat those they deem below them...not their equals or superiors..."
"Of course you would think that way. You don't know better. Power is inherited, you can't create it from nothing. When you do, the power is tainted. When you mix it with the pure, the whole thing is ruined, and magic will eventually fail if the line is too muddied. You're just...not good enough." Now she really was bored. This was all her father ever talked about.
Lily shook her head. "Then I'm just good for tainting the perfection of the world, I take it?"
"Yes that's it exactly." She brushed her hair back and sighed.
Lily couldn't help that her head seemed to be set to shake permanently as she stared straight ahead, neither could she help the bitterness that seeped into her voice. "Then you shouldn't even bother spending time talking to me... I might just dirty the mare..."
Narcissa closed her eyes, arms tightening over her chest. "Excellent point."
Lily slipped over to the bench and stared once more at the painting as she lapsed into silence.
Narcissa sat quietly beside her, staring at the ground. "You can't change what you are." Narcissa wasn't referring entirely to Lily in her comment, focused on some distant point.
"Then why should I be punished for it...?"
"I don't know everything, Evans..."
Lily turned to face her. "Do you feel trapped? Punished for being who you are?" Lily had caught the way Narcissa's tone had switched.
"That's none of your concern." She snapped, eyes suddenly cold as she whipped her gaze to Lily.
Lily shivered. "I was just wondering..." She dropped her gaze again to the floor.
Narcissa sneered, looking away. "Stand up, Evans."
Lily nods and stands silently.
Narcissa leaned against the wall, arching her back a bit and sighing. She pointed to the spot directly in front of her in silent command.
Lily maintains the silence and moves to stand before Narcissa, right where the hand had indicated.
She sat up straight and scooted forward to the edge of the bench. "Turn around."
A soft nod is given and she turns around, her eyes closing.
Narcissa spread her knees and pulled Lily gently down to sit on the ground between them. She brushed Lily's hair over one shoulder and slid her hand under the collar of Lily's robe, trailing her collarbone before kneading her back. She laughed a little to think of their previous conversations during such moments. "Dreadful potion today, Evans..."
Lily smiled softly. "Ah, now I think the potion was fine...it had something to do with something else, I'm pretty sure..." She murmured this as she bowed her head, facing as low as she could.
Narcissa continued to knead, quite skilled with her hands, and eased any tension she could find in Lily's back and shoulders. She smiled a bit. "Possibly. Still, you should have noticed."
Lily nodded. "I probably should have...but I probably wouldn't have known what it was..."
"Probably not." She agreed, brushing her thumb against the back of Lily's neck.
Lily shivered softly and moved her hands to rest in her lap.
Narcissa smiled, looping her arms around Lily's shoulders and letting them drape carelessly across her chest. "Green really isn't your color."
Lily shivered again. "Don't I know it..."
"At least it dyed you're hair too?" She offered, smirking a bit. "If not you'd have looked like a Christmas elf...hm...I shall have to remember that for next time."
Lily raised an eyebrow. "For next time? You want to make me an elf?"
"Red hair and green skin. Hn..." She considered it, tracing back over the steps. "I'd have to alter what it picks up and specialize it to you specifically..."
Lily shook her head slightly. "And it doesn't matter whether or not I want to be an elf?"
She scoffed. "Oh it'll fade...in 17 days..."
Lily shuddered. "I really have to wait two-and-a-half weeks?"
Narcissa bit her lower lip, voice soft. "I designed it myself...it's got at least two dozen layers. It took me a whole year to get it right, and I'd already had the idea of just how it would work in my mind. Bella would know if I...yes. Two and a half weeks."
Lily gave another shudder. "I understand..." She smirks. "Unless I can beat you at potions...unless I make the antidote..." She bites her lip. "Doubtful...but I can try!"
Narcissa smiled, bending low to set her cheek on the top of Lily's head. "Yes."
Lily smiled and her eyes sparkled. She had just found herself a challenge.
Narcissa's smile remained, calm and soft and almost fond. She sighed, closing her eyes. "What time is it...?"
Lily shook her head. "I have no idea..."
"Probably time for class..." She lifted her head and leaned back.
Lily sighed and nodded sadly. "Meaning I get my first taste of facing the world as a green girl..."
Narcissa ran her fingers delicately through Lily's hair, still not quite satisfied with the texture. She commented absently. "Sometimes I wish I were green."
Lily giggled quietly. "Now why would you wish that?"
Narcissa stood, stepping over Lily without answer and walking quietly to the door.
Lily sighed and shook her head, standing much more gracefully than might be expected.
Narcissa paused, glancing over her shoulder. "Bellatrix is pleased, and she hasn't slept much the past few nights...I doubt she'll pay much attention to me..."
Lily nodded softly. "I'm sure..." She checked that she still had everything she would need later.
Narcissa gritted her teeth. Gryffindors. "Why don't you swing by the potions class after dinner?"
Lily raised an eyebrow. "I was planning on at least getting my cauldron to start work on the antidote..."
Narcissa resisted the urge to sneer, and smiled instead. "Maybe I can help you along."
Lily smiled softly. "I hope you can..."
Narcissa shook her head, a little exasperated, and slid out.
Lily laughed gently and waited a moment before she left as well.
AN:
1) I think it's time for a prank. Narcissa, you should surprise us. Make it good.
Well, that's the chapter! I do hope you've enjoyed it. I'm still looking for a beta, if any one is interested. Also, if there's anything confusing, please let me know what it is. Not just in general, but a specific area that confuses someone? Thanks! And please review!