The rest of the journey to Hogwarts seemed to pass undisturbed, and Narcissa enjoyed hanging out with her cousin and his friends - in fact, she felt rebellious by doing so and ignoring her Slytherin friends. "You know," James remarked, as the train began to slow down, "You're alright for a Slytherin."
Narcissa chuckled. "And you lot aren't so bad - given you're all Gryffindors."
James yawned massively and ruffled his hair. "Where's Wormy?"
Sirius cocked an eyebrow at this sudden question; he, and the rest of his friends, had seemingly forgotten the whereabouts of Wormtail. He shrugged lightly, watching his reflection for a little while before replying. "Who cares?"
"Sirius," Remus reprimanded gently, "He's meant to be our friend. However - let us not emphasize the fact he's not here," he said quickly, as James looked at Remus indignantly, "because - we've arrived."
It took some time to coax Sirius and James off the train, because they were ransacking the abandoned food trolley, stuffing Pumpkin Pasties and other delicious food into their rucksacks. "Padfoot, Prongs, that's enough!" Remus said sharply, gesturing for them to hurry up. Almost all the boats had left now, just a small reminder of how greedy Sirius and James could be.
Once they were all together finally, bar Wormtail, they headed off towards the few remaining carriages. Narcissa's hair blew in the wind, an icy bitterness seeping through her skin. She knew if her mother and father discovered that she was mingling with people outside of her house she would probably be thrown out, just like Sirius had been. She shuddered a little at the thought. Narcissa stepped a little closer as the carriages came closer, but Malfoy stopped Narcissa from moving any further with his cane.
"Narcissa," Malfoy spoke grandly, "I take it you will be sitting with us at dinner? You know," He lowered his voice, whispering into her ear; "You don't have to pretend to like this sadistic lot."
Narcissa pushed him away, suddenly annoyed, "Get lost, Malfoy." She turned away from him promptly, but he slid his arms around her waist.
"Come on, Cissy," he purred, "you know you want me really." She slapped his hands away, and turned to face him once more. With surprising force for her skinny frame, she pushed him so hard that he nearly toppled over. "That is your delusion, Lucius, not mine," she retorted coldly, "and no - I won't be joining you for dinner."
And with that, she climbed into the carriage with Remus, James and Sirius.
"And with that said - let the feast begin!" Dumbledore's majestic voice echoed through the great hall like fire trickling with water, and everything seemed to burst into life. Wormtail was still no were to be seen, but nobody seemed particularly bothered. Narcissa had half debated joining her Slytherin cronies, but surprised her new Gryffindor friends and herself, by sitting with them instead. Dumbledore did not tell her to move back to her own table, he merely raised his wine glass at her in mild appreciation. Narcissa twisted her salad selection without much consideration, not feeling particularly hungry. "C'mon, Narcissa," Sirius said sarcastically, "you're going to waste away if you don't eat properly." And with that said, the three friends piled her plate high with chicken. James got a bit bored with this routine and accidently squirted sauce all over an unsuspecting Gryffindor, and Sirius sniggered with appreciation. Remus sighed slightly, sipping his Pumpkin Juice, hoping to get away so he could start one of his new books. He watched with mild curiosity as Narcissa's Slytherin friends shot her confused looks. Lucius Malfoy did not say anything—he looked stricken with silent fury, pushing his food around on his plate but not eating it.
"I better get going." Narcissa said resentfully, "but we are in all of the same lessons, so, you know." She smiled at her cousin and his friends. "See you."
"Bye Narcissa," James mumbled, his mouth spraying yet another unfortunate Gryffindor with salad.
"Yeah - see you." Sirius said with a swagger, looking arrogant. Narcissa ruffled his hair affectionately—it seemed that a hairbrush had never come in contact with Sirius's messy hair, but she decided not to point this out.
"Bye, Narcissa," Lupin said softly, smiling pleasantly at her.
Narcissa left the Great Hall and made her way to the common room, lost in her thoughts. She wondered if she truly could abandon her 'Slytherin Destiny' as Bellatrix called it, to become more respected within all the houses, not just Slytherin. She glanced at the portrait, and murmured, "Dragonskin," to which the portrait replied, "Exactly," and swung open. Narcissa stepped through the portrait hole, and was glad to find the common room empty. Without hesitation, she ran up the stairs to the girls dormitories, and sorted herself out with her evening routine. She was brushing her hair when Bellatrix finally arrived, her face exhilarated. "Wow Cissy," she said sarcastically, flopping down onto her sister's bed, "how did it go with the Blood Traitors?"
"Don't call them that," Narcissa replied softly.
"I hope you remember your place," Bellatrix sneered, pushing her hair off her face, "You ought to think about whether you suit a blood traitor status."
"Don't be ridiculous," mumbled Narcissa, but she felt worried.
"Well, anyway," Bellatrix stood up, "I hear that the Dark Lord will be requiring members…" As she spoke, her eyes became dreamy and her cheeks began to tint. "I'm going to sign up." She looked smugly at her sister, waiting for a response.
"You're going to devote your soul to the Dark Lord?" Narcissa turned on her side. She heard Bellatrix sigh with exasperation.
"I am going to be a Death Eater. That's what he's calling it - his close group of followers."
"Goodnight, Bellatrix." Narcissa said pointedly, closing her eyes. Bellatrix murmured the same, making her way over to the showers.
Worry overcame Narcissa - what if Bellatrix was actually serious? Signing up for the Dark Lord meant allegiance for eternity - but she supposed Bellatrix would be dedicated; and hoped for Bella's sake that she would stay as safe as possible.