A/N – I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Aulizia and Kirixchi for the use of Ravensden and Shadowbarrow - you guys are great!
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Narcissa smoothed down her robes before sitting down gracefully and eyeing the surroundings. She looked out of the window and glanced up at the castle. This was the last time she would ever sit on the Hogwarts express, which was now preparing to set off back to London and Platform 9 ¾ . The only other people sitting in the carriage with her at the moment were the younger Lestrange and her younger cousin, Regalus. He often stuck closely to her, especially in situations where there was inter-house mingling because his older brother, Sirius, and his friends often had a nasty sense of humour. This thought was confirmed when Severus Snape entered the carriage, unable to speak as his lips had been magically glued together.
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"Finite incantum" she sighed pointing her wand at the younger boy, who nodded his thanks before sitting in the corner and opening a dark arts book.
The carriage door banged again, heralding the entrance of Violet Parkinson and a few of her cronies, who eyed Narcissa up evilly before sitting down next to her and starting chatting.
"So Narcissa?" Violet asked her viciously. "Have you started planning your coming out party yet? I've been preparing mine for months." She paused nastily, "or have recent events gotten in the way?"
If looks could kill, the one Narcissa threw would have frozen Violet on the spot. Recent events, as she had not-so-tactfully put it, was referring to Andromeda's recent elopement, with a muggle-born, going by the name of Ted Tonks. Narcissa had received two letters informing her of the event. One from each of her sisters. Bellatrix's letter, which she received first, was an angry affair, bitter and disappointed with her sisters' actions, it had informed her of the elopement and of the fact that Aunt Walburga had blasted her off the family tapestry, along with anybody else she didn't like, Narcissa mentally added. Andromeda's letter had been so much different from her elder sister's letter. It was joyful and full of hope for a better future. She was sorry for the way that things had turned out but this was the way that Droma wanted to live her life, the rest of the family be dammed.
And that was it. Where there had previously been three Black sisters, now there were only two, and it wasn't as if people acted as if Andromeda had died, or disappeared, it was simply as if she had never even existed. When Narcissa had returned for the Easter holidays, shortly after Droma's defection, Ravensden had changed; any indication that there had ever been a middle daughter had gone. The family portrait had been altered; every last one of Andromeda's things had disappeared.
Narcissa returned to the problem at hand, Parkinson, even in their last few hours together she seemed to be determined to try and prove that she had some sort of superiority over her, but Narcissa was a Black, wizarding royalty and nobody was superior to her.
"I'll plan for it when I return home" Narcissa watched Violet's face light up with glee then took the shot. "Planning for a party at Ravensden takes much less effort than planning for a party at a much smaller venue, don't you thing Violet?" The other girls face tinged pink, but she remained silent. Violet's home, somewhere in wizarding London was significantly smaller than the ancient ancestral home of the Black family.
However, having found a potential soft spot, Violet wasn't about to give up. "I do feel for you Narcissa, I truly do" although she was offering her sympathy, it wasn't genuine.
"Why's that Violet?" Narcissa sighed in return; she really didn't have the energy to deal with all the fuss.
"Well the situation with your sister is bound to reflect on you. Could make it near impossible for either you or Bellatrix" she paused on the name of Narcissa's older sister distastefully "to find a good match"
"Oh you don't need to worry about Cissa" Rabastan answered on her behalf "Or Bella, for that matter."
"Why's that then" sniped back Parkinson, not relishing the interruption.
"Didn't you hear already?" he smirked "Bella managed to ensnare one of the most eligible bachelors around."
Narcissa smiled elegantly before turning to stare out of the window. It was true, Rodolphus Lestrange was quite the catch, a fact that she lorded over Violet with pleasure. Having the Lestranges as in-laws would have made a huge difference to Violet's social standing, however it barely altered her own.
Her musings were interrupted by the presence of Sirius entering the compartment; every pair of eyes fell upon him in a deadly glare. By his ancestry Sirius had every right to sit in the carriage, he was after all pureblooded, and a Black. Narcissa gazed at him coolly, hiking up an eyebrow questioningly.
"And to what do we owe the honour?" she drawled.
"I got an owl from Mum, she says that we're picking you up from the station." He said it rudely, to make up for the fact that he was slightly intimidated by the number of Slytherins in the room.
Narcissa nodded, naturally, that was the case. Her mother hadn't been seen in public since Droma ran away.
Sirius turned to where Snape was sitting in the corner "Wondered where you'd got to. Hiding were we Snivellus?"
Before Snape had chance to reply, Narcissa jumped in, feeling sorry for the younger boy.
"Was that everything Sirius?" Seeing defeat, he nodded and left the carriage, leaving Narcissa in relative peace for the rest of the journey.
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When she arrived at the station, she watched her Aunt Walburga embrace both her sons, though one more tightly than the other, while the look Sirius gave his mother was one of utter loathing. Narcissa sighed before kissing her Aunt on the cheek, and enduring the normal family fussing of 'my haven't you grown' and talk of her coming out ball and her sister's engagement.
On her arrival at Ravensden her elder sister was waiting for her in the hallway, fiancée in tow, sporting an enormous diamond ring on her left and, which she flashed around for Narcissa, and everyone else in the party to have a look at.
"Oh Bella" Narcissa breathed, before the two girls erupted into screams and started jumping around the room, hugging each other excitedly. "We have to go shopping for dresses soon!" she squealed, the wedding date had been announced and was to take place in just over three months, as Bellatrix didn't believe in long engagements, or long periods of waiting for anything for that matter.
"How about tomorrow?"
Narcissa nodded and wthe next morning they both apparated into Diagon Alley, leaving a bemused Rodolphus in the hallway of the ancestral Black family home. The two girls had been shopping for little over three hours, and were entering their fourth boutique, and Bella had already lost interest, and was off in her own dream world.
"Miss Black? Excuse me Miss Black?" The shop assistant had been trying to get Bellatrix's attention for the last five minutes. However Bellatrix's mind was elsewhere.
"Bella" hissed Narcissa, elbowing her sister gently in the ribs, causing Bellatrix to look at her questioningly, Narcissa nodded in the direction of the sales witch.
"How can I help you today Miss Black?" It was unsurprising that the witch behind the counter knew the identity of the Black sisters, they were regularly featured in the society pages of the Daily Prophet and Witches Weekly, generally Bella found this tiresome, that people had nothing better to do than read about which one of the three sisters had been on a date, or to a party, or been shopping for goodness sakes.
"Well, I would like to buy a wedding dress." What on earth else would she be doing in a wedding dress shop?
"Any particular style you were looking for?" Bellatrix shook her head, dresses really weren't her forte. It wasn't that she didn't like dressing up and looking nice, it's just that generally she had better things to do than spend hours on her appearance. At 19, Bellatrix Black had blossomed, her once pretty features were now striking, she had long black hair, which she wore loose, hanging in glossy curls, dark eyes framed by long dark eyelashes, and she had the complexion of a perfect English rose, pale skin with rosy cheeks. She was beautiful when she woke up in the morning, so hours spent on her appearance didn't really make a difference.
"I thought perhaps a full skirted gown, with a cathedral train." Interjected Narcissa smoothly.
Bellatrix nodded at the sales assistant, who walked into the back, presumably to get the dress. When it came to these matters Narcissa always knew best. At 17 Narcissa was starting to look more like her elder sister, though her complexion was a lot warmer, with her honey blond hair and girly features.
"So Narcissa, how's it going with your dream man?" It was a well known fact in good wizarding circles that Narcissa had been dating Charles Jugson, a Slytherin from Andromeda's year, exclusively for over a year now.
"I would hardly refer to him as my dream man" she replied dryly. He was a nice enough guy, and would do to pass the time, he was sweet, gentle and caring, but unfortunately he was beneath her. Her parents would never agree to the match, even if she wanted to marry him, which of course she didn't.
"He's not good enough for you, you know" Bella remarked as she looked at a pair of pearl shoes in a glass display case.
"Very few wizards are" Cissa bit back, her parents were incredibly fussy when it came to suitors.
"Oh, I suppose I could name a few"
Narcissa raised an eyebrow.
"Augustus Rockwood?"
"Has atrocious table manners"
"Antonin Dolohov"
"Is currently dating Theodora Nott"
"Karl Zambini"
"Is still half in love with Andromeda"
"Ummm I believe Goyle and Crabbe are both still single"
"Are barely any better than Jugson"
"Rodolphus Lestrange?"
"Is halfway decent, I suppose" she teased her sister with a smile.
"How about Lucius Malfoy?"
Narcissa surprised her sister by remaining silent on the topic of the Malfoy heir; however she soon closed the subject of the conversation. "Anyway Bella, what does it matter what eligible wizards are out there, I haven't even had my coming out party and I'm not going to strain myself trying to 'land' a decent catch"
"You've been talking to Violet Parkinson again, haven't you?"
"Unfortunately" she sighed, but further conversation was stinted by the reappearance of the sales witch, with Bella's dress in tow.
It was white, which Narcissa immediately had switched to ivory. Bellatrix tried on the dress, and glanced in the mirror, before glancing over at her sister. Narcissa was frowning, and Bellatrix had to agree with her. The colour was nice, Bella had never been the type to wear pure white, but the rest of the dress, simply wasn't her.
"It's too fluffy" she flapped her hands around in distaste.
"Perhaps something more A-line?" Suggested Narcissa, before adding thoughtfully "How about something more strappy as well Bella?"
Bellatrix nodded, and with a flick of the sales witch's wand the dress's sleeves disappeared and the gown became less full, leaving, in Bella's eyes, the perfect dress. It was pale ivory, with tiny spaghetti straps, the bodice was simple, gathered at the waist with tiny white crystal beads, before flowing out to the ground.
"Oh Bellatrix" sighed Narcissa, "It's perfect."
Bella merely nodded, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
The sales witch smiled, "When's the happy occasion?"
"In three months" Bellatrix replied politely. "I'll take the dress."
"Will you be requiring a veil?"
"No, thank you. Just the dress."
Five minutes after the two girls had finished purchasing the dress they marched arm in arm to Florean Fortescue's and both ordered well deserved ice-cream sundaes.
Narcissa was staring over Bellatrix's shoulder, not really paying attention to Bella's whining about wedding preparations, she had heard it when they had been writing the guest list, choosing the menu and organising the table plan. Bella glanced over her shoulder following Narcissa's gaze, and she saw two wizards walking towards their table.
"Bella" hissed Narcissa, who was pretending she hadn't seen Lucius and Rodolphus approaching. "Show me your ring again."
"Why? You've seen it a million times already." For arguing with her sister she was rewarded a sharp kick under the table and a glare.
"Just show me the damn ring Bella"
"All right" Bellatrix begrudgingly held out her hand.
"Oh Bella, it's so pretty" Narcissa cooed, as Lucius and Rodolphus arrived at their table. Lucius was eyeing Narcissa and the ring thoughtfully.
"Miss Black, Miss Narcissa" Greeted Lucius formally, bending over to kiss Narcissa's hand.
"Hello Mr Malfoy, Rodolphus" Narcissa replied politely.
"Malfoy, Lestrange." Nodded Bella, moving her chair round so the two gentlemen could sit down.
"So what have you two beautiful ladies been doing this fine afternoon?" flirted Lestrange teasingly.
Narcissa rolled her eyes and Bellatrix grinned, "We've been wedding dress shopping, do you wanna see it?"
"Bella!" gasped Narcissa, "You can't show him the dress before the wedding. It's bad luck. You remember what happened to poor Aunt Capella"
"That had nothing to do with luck."
"The groom saw the dress before the wedding."
"It still had nothing to do with seeing the dress."
"A goat landed on her during the ceremony."
"Cissa, you're being ridiculous."
Rodophus started to peek in the bag, but was stopped by a determined Narcissa waving her wand" Accio!", the bag flew into her hand. "Don't you dare look in that bag Rodolphus" she said clutching it to her chest.
"I wouldn't dream of it Narcissa. So tell me," he said, changing the topic suddenly. "Did you have a nice time leaving school"
"Yes, thank you" she replied politely.
"Oh look" commented Bellatrix evilly "Violet Parkinson has just arrived."
"Should we invite her to sit with us, after all she is one of us." Asked Rodolphus. One of us simply meant a pureblooded witch of good standing.
"Barely" commented Narcissa inspecting her nails with a distasteful look on her face.
Bellatrix agreed with her sister. "She doesn't know her place in society" and she scooped a small spoonful of chocolate ice cream into her mouth
But the discussion became moot, as the witch in question spotted them and invited herself over.