A/N: It always fascinated me that of all the Black children, Narcissa is named for a flower, while the others are named after astrological beings. And I've always thought of Bellatrix being very jealous of Narcissa. So here's the day when 5-year-old Narcissa questions her namesake. RxR. FxF.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Narcissa sat in the corner of the library with a frown, the large books in front of her feet. She couldn't understand many of the words but they did prove what Bella had said.
They were all in the playroom today and Narcissa was minding her own business and brushing her doll's hair, when Bella and Dromeda came up to her. She looked up at them from her seat on the floor with wide eyes, wondering why they were bothering her. Most times, they just left her alone, too caught up in 'big kid' things they said. But now they were looking down at her pointedly.
"Hello," she said hesitantly. Dromeda looked down at her with a straight face but Bella was giving her a strange smile.
"Hi Cissy. Me and Andromeda were talking and we realized something. You're name is Narcissa," Bella said.
Narcissa quirked eyebrow, her head slightly tilted to the right. "Yes, my name is Narcissa."
"And our names are Bellatrix and Andromeda," Bella said, pointing between herself and Dromeda, her smile still wide.
Narcissa had no idea what Bella was trying to say. "Yes..."
"We are named after things in the night sky. Large things, shiny things, things people look up at and point at and admire. You're Narcissa, named after a dinky flower," Bella said with a smirk.
"Narcissa is a flower?" Narcissa asked. She didn't know she was named after a flower.
"Narcissa comes from the flower Narcissus. They're white with yellow in the middle," Andromeda explained.
"But a flower could never compare to a star, or a whole galaxy," Bella exclaimed, stretching out her hands for effect. "You're just an insignificant weed."
Narcissa stood up leaving her doll on the floor. "I am not a weed," she screamed.
"Fine, you're just a stupid flower, Narcissa, meant to live for today and die tomorrow," Bella said before pushing Narcissa back onto the floor and walking away with a laugh, Dromeda trailing behind her.
This is why Narcissa was here with these large books. Bella was right. Bellatrix was a star in the constellation Orion, which was her uncle's name. Andromeda was a huge galaxy that had many stars. There was no Narcissa star, or galaxy or anything. Narcissa pulled her knees to herself. Why hadn't she gotten a star name? Like the constellations Carina or Cassiopeia, or the moon Titania? Was she really just a weed? Only pretty for a short time before she died?
She was crying so much she didn't hear the library door open. "Narcissa, child, what are you doing in here?" her mother's angry voice asked. Narcissa quickly got off the floor, wiping her eyes furiously. Her mum would be so mad with the books scattered on the floor. But her mum wasn't mad. She crouched low and looked Narcissa straight in the eye. "Narcissa, what's wrong?" she asked.
Narcissa's lip trembled, her eyes stinging as she tried to hold back her tears. Her mum didn't really like crying, but she couldn't hold it back any longer. "Mum, why did you name me such a horrible thing as Narcissa?" Narcissa cried, throwing her arms around her mother's neck.
Druella hugged her youngest daughter back, rubbing a hand soothingly on her back. She was rarely affectionate to her daughters, but only because of Cygnus. He hated any form of coddling, and Druella had to listen to her husband. But she could not just let her daughter cry before her and do nothing. She picked up her daughter, closed the door with her wand and then sat in one of the large couches, placing Narcissa on her lap. "What are you talking about child? Don't you like your name?"
Narcissa cried harder, burying her face into her mother's neck. Though her words were muffled, Druella heard her daughter say, "You named me after a weed and Bella and Dromeda were named after stars."
Druella pulled her daughter off her neck and looked her into the eyes, "Narcissa isn't a weed, dear."
"But, Bella said-"
Druella rolled her eyes, "Oh, Bella said." She placed a kiss on Narcissa's forehead and dried her tears with the bottom of the little girl's dress.
"Let me tell you a story, Narcissa. The Blacks have always loved astronomy so they name their children after stars and things of the sort. So your father named your sisters after a star and a galaxy. Your little cousin Sirius is named after a star as well. Now when you were born, he told me I could name you anything I wanted. I took one look at you and thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. You had pale skin and lovely yellow hair, just like my own. So I chose my favourite flower, the most beautiful flower in the world, the Narcissus."
Narcissa's tears stopped as she listened to her mother's story, a small smile on her face. Druella hugged her daughter once more and said, "Don't let Bella or Andromeda get to you. I don't like to see my flower unhappy."
She rose off the couch and placed Narcissa on the floor. She spelled the books to their proper places before grabbing her daughter's hand. As they walked out of the library, she said softly, "How about we take a walk through the garden today?"