Chapter Three

A/N: Thanks, dream-on-sunday, JustaBitBored and Guest, for reviewing.

As the sun began to rise in the sky, Narcissa sat once again in a room on her own, tears streaming slowly from her reddened eyes. The rivets of water had not ceased since she had discovered the Ministry's plans for she and her sisters, and she could still barely understand what their separation would truly mean for her.

Watching unblinkingly as light streamed through the window, the infant hardly noted the opening door, or the two women that walked in through it. They were silent, not giving her any notice that she was there, in an effort not to shock her. But, though she was young, Narcissa was not ignorant. She noticed enough to know they were there.

"Narcissa?" asked one of the women. Elizabeth had returned once more. "Narcissa, are you awake?"

"Yes." the girl replied, biting back the urge to say more, as Bellatrix undoubtedly would have done. Even if she was leaning against the back of the chair, it was utterly ludicrous that the woman expected her to be able to sleep after all she had lost the previous night.

"Good. Well, Narcissa, I wanted you to meet the woman that you're going to go and live with from now on." she continued, bending down to the girl's level as she spoke extremely slowly to her. 'If she is a mother, I really do pity her children.' Narcissa thought cheekily, bringing a slight smile to her face, though she tried to disguise, in case Elizabeth thought she was happy about being split away from her sisters, which she most certainly wasn't. "Her name is Minerva McGonagall."

At the sound of her name, the woman named McGonagall stepped forwards, enough into the light that Narcissa could identify what she looked like. She was quite a pretty woman, who must have been only thirty at the most, with dark brown hair and emerald eyes, not dissimilar to the qualities of her father's appearance. From the way she walked and the way she acted, the child could tell she was a nice person.

"Hello, Narcissa." the woman said, bending down in front of the child. 'Her voice is nice, as well.' Narcissa added inside her head. The list of reasons why she liked the woman was growing by the minute. "My name is Minerva McGonagall. I work at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Do you know where that is?"

By way of response, Narcissa gave a clear nod. She may not have been told much about the world outside the Pureblood circle, but Hogwarts was something every self-respecting witch or wizard had to know about, no matter what age they were.

"Well, after what happened last night…" the Scottish woman began, choosing her words carefully. "I would like you to come and live with me at the school. If you would like to, that is."

Narcissa did not know what to say. For a long time now, she had wanted to visit the historic building, to see what was so special about the place, and now she was being offered the chance to live there. It was hardly believable.

"Well, Narcissa? What do you say?" asked Elizabeth, her tone hardly changed from the first time she had spoken to her, still just as slow and sickly sweet as ever.

Narcissa said nothing, but she hardly noticed her head subconsciously nod, her mind showing her agreement without truly thinking about it.

"Good. Well, then… Professor McGonagall, would you wish to leave now?" the Ministry official questioned, her sweet tone still laced with the fact that she merely wished to get rid of the child so she could go home herself. The Scottish woman nodded almost immediately, reaching out a hand for the infant's.

"Yes, I think I will. Narcissa, would you like to go?" she asked. For the first time, when she was asked a question in the Ministry, she felt as if her answer really mattered, and so spoke it clearly.

"Yes." she replied, with a genuine smile. After everything that had gone wrong that evening, something was finally going right.

The moment her response was given, Minerva grasped little Narcissa's hand, reaching down with the other to lift the young girl off the ground, hoisting her up onto her hip. Though she did not quite know why, Narcissa felt just as safe embraced in Minerva's arms as she had done in Bellatrix's. Almost as safe as she had in her own mother's.

Only a half hour had passed when they finally arrived at Hogwarts School, and, even in her desperately tired state, Narcissa could not help but marvel at the beauty of the ancient stonework, feeling the magic of the place itself prickling at her skin like tiny bolts of lightning, working its way into her very blood.

Now that she was in the shadow of the castle, the young girl could easily see why people had considered the place to be so brilliant. It was utterly astounding to look at, and the place's reputation preceded it. Before she even entered the doorway, Narcissa knew that she would be happy there.

"What do you think of it, Narcissa?" came a voice from above her, where Minerva had whispered the question into her ear. "Do you like Hogwarts?"

As a haze of fatigue took over her mind, the night of sobbing and mourning her loss finally taking its toll on the little girl, all her body would allow herself to do was to nod her head, smiling a little as she did so to show her sincerity. Minerva laughed at this, stroking a stray curl away from the child's forehead as her eyelids began to droop.

"Well, I hope that it will live up to your expectations, little one." Minerva told her, her voice beginning to blur and meld together as Narcissa began to slip away into the clutches of sleep. "And I hope that I will, as well."

A/N: I'll try and get the next chapter up ASAP, but please review. I am not kidding at all when I say that it makes the next chapter come faster.