My first Harry Potter fic in a while... Narcissa and Lucius fascinate me, as they (aside from Snape) seem to be the only ones in Voldemort's inner circle capable of real love. This won't be a long fic, but will visit random moments in their relationship, from Hogwarts to the aftermath of the Second Wizarding War. It's written in strict canon, in terms of dates and relationships. I'm trying to keep the characters as canon as possible, too.
I'm writing it with a T rating at the moment, but that will no doubt change as the characters grow older to an M.
I own none of the characters mentioned, all of them belong to the beautiful J. K. Rowling. All hail her magical wonderfulness.
The double doors to the Great Hall swung open with a groan, revealing a magnificent room. Cissy walked up the middle of the house tables under the thousands upon thousands of floating candles that lit the entire hall in awe. Above her, she could see the enchanted ceiling that her sisters had told her about. Stars were beginning to pop out of the inky black sky, and she heard murmurings of wonder from her fellow first-years around her. McGonagall led the trembling students up to the very front of the hall and lined them up hurriedly, facing away from the High Table. Narcissa surveyed the house tables nervously as the black-haired witch placed a tatty hat on a stool in front of them. She spotted the Slytherin table on her far left – clad in green, silver and black, the proud faces of the Serpent house were difficult to miss. Her eyes scanned the length of the table until she found the faces she sought; sat side by side were her sisters, Andromeda and Bellatrix. They wore the signature Black smile – haughty, secretive and proud. Bella winked at Cissy. She drew herself up at once and tossed her hair back as the Sorting Hat burst into song.
She didn't bother to listen, but continued to scan the Slytherin table. Opposite her sisters sat a pale boy with a pointed face, long blonde hair and cold grey eyes. She met Lucius' gaze for a moment and he raised his eyebrow at her. She glared back, earning a smirk from him. Narcissa's father did business with Malfoy's father and consequently the Black girls were well acquainted with him and his family. They had spent much of the summer before last together, and Cissy and Lucius had become as thick as thieves in the warm August days, talking excitedly about Hogwarts and playing tricks on her sisters. However, the summer just gone had been different. They, again, spent much time together, but he had grown haughty and proud. Narcissa was accustomed to the pure-blood pride, but this went beyond that. She grew to dislike him as his arrogance became her constant companion. She ignored his boasting lectures about life at Hogwarts, interrupted his spell recitals and rolled her eyes at his arrogant strut. Her sisters assured her that he was just showing off to impress her and make himself look good, but Cissy tired of him quickly. This resulted in her refusing to talk to him unless absolutely necessary and only tolerated his presence when her parents demanded it.
The Sorting Hat finished off its last line to thunderous applause and Narcissa's eyes drifted back to the stern-looking McGonagall who was unrolling a scroll of parchment.
"When I call your name," she said to the first-years, "you will come forwards and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. When it calls out a house, you will join that table and thus belong to that house. Abbott, Richard!"
A nervous black-haired boy stumbled forward and perched on the seat. McGonagall placed the hat on his head and there was a brief pause before a rip near the brim opened like a mouth and shouted "Gryffindor!"
Cheers erupted from the table to the right of the Slytherins as Richard Abbott tottered over, a look of relief washing over his round face. Cissy waited as two more students were Sorted ("Anders, Eleanor!" to Ravenclaw and "Banks, Alice!" to Gryffindor), feeling the eyes of her sisters on her at all times.
"Black, Narcissa!"
Cissy heard whispers break out at the call of her name. She wasn't surprised. Her parents were two of the best-known people in the wizarding society and her sisters were already notorious around the school – Bellatrix in particular. She drew herself up proudly and walked fearlessly to the stool, noticing the second raised eyebrow she earned from Lucius. The battered hat was dropped on her head ungraciously and almost obscured her vision.
"Ah, another Black," said a small voice in her ear. "There seems to be an obvious choice here. But there are brains here too, and courage isn't in short supply either. Loyalty seems to be dominant here, despite the familiar pure-blood pride. Hufflepuff would suit you very much, I think; family dominates any lust for power, I see."
Narcissa felt panic course through her at such a thought. "Slytherin!" her mind screamed desperately.
"You really are a Black," the voice in her ear chuckled. "And there is very little I can do about that. Slytherin!"
Narcissa tore the hat off her head and thrust it into McGonagall's waiting hands, not noticing the stern look she was thrown as she stepped proudly down the steps to thunderous applause. She walked down the side of the house table until she reached her beaming sisters. They moved apart, leaving her a gap to sit between them.
"What took the Hat so long?" Bella asked her sister as Dromeda handed Cissy the house tie. "Didn't want to put you in Hufflepuff, did it?"
Cissy smiled flawlessly as Dromeda snorted. "It chose right in the end." She didn't dare tell her sisters that in fact, yes, it did.
Lucius eyed her from across the table. "You know, my father always says you can tell all you need to know about a wizard from which house he was in at schoo-"
"Really, Lucius? That's fascinating," Narcissa interrupted him. "Now would you mind passing the pumpkin juice?"
Her sisters hid smiles behind their hands as the blonde-haired boy passed her the jug with a scowl. Cissy would certainly fit in well in Slytherin.
The feast lasted what seemed like hours, and once the dessert dishes were sparkling clean again, Cissy leant forwards on the table, feeling very content.
"I'd forgotten how satisfying the Welcoming Feast is," Lucius was saying with his familiar drawl to a dim-looking boy next to him. "I really have missed this place."
"You're a second year," Bella said incredulously. "You've been here all of five minutes!"
"I can still grow attached, can't I?" he said to her, now looking annoyed.
"You ignore her, Lucius," Dromeda said consolingly, this hint of irony barely audible to anyone bar her sisters. "Who is she to tell you how to feel?"
"That's the job of your father, isn't it?" Bella said slyly. Cissy smirked as an ugly flush crept up from under his collar.
"Leave the boy alone," Rodolphus Lestrange interrupted as Lucius made to retort. "So how was your summer, Bella?" he added with a wink.
"Dry up, Lestrange," Bella rolled her eyes. "Unless you want me to hex you into next week."
"You always were good with a wand," he lowered his voice slightly, still smiling. A few people around them sniggered.
"In front of my sisters?" Bella exclaimed. "Nice one. Real classy, Rod."
Lucius smirked at her.
"Wipe that smirk off your face, Malfoy," Dromeda said sharply, but gave him a smile when Bellatrix looked away.
"So Cissy," Lucius began as the tables began filing out of the Hall. "Need help finding the dungeons?"
"I hardly think so," she said airily. "Seeing as everyone from the house is going there now."
His smile never faltered. "I could take you the scenic route if you like."
"Thank you, but I think not." She left him standing with a scowl and followed her sisters out of the Hall.