Chapter Twenty Six

A/N: Thank you to Nevaeh -Rose Malfoy for reviewing the last chapter.

Hogwarts seemed such an empty place, with not even the small trickle of students who remained over Christmas and Easter calling it home during the summer holidays. The corridors, usually filled with chattering teenagers and running children, were silent. But far from being unnerving, Narcissa found it strangely comforting, as if she could simply go back to the days when the skipping footsteps of Anastasia Selwyn had been the only sound to be heard there. Until now, she had never realised how much she wanted to.

The path to the Transfiguration corridor was a familiar one, although Narcissa scarcely had cause to walk it any longer. She had excelled in Transfiguration when she was young, having been taught so much by Minerva growing up, but she dropped the subject as soon as she had the chance. She could not bear to be in the same room as the professor most of the time, knowing that she could not be a mother to her any longer.

'What am I doing here?' she wondered despairingly, even as she approached the closed door of Professor McGonagall's living quarters. 'She's not my mother anymore, I've barely spoken to her in years. Even if she could help me with this, why would she want to?'

But she could come all this way. She could not back down now.

The door opened before Narcissa had a chance to put down her arm from knocking and for a moment, the girl stood there frozen, like a mouse before a lion. She had expected just a few more seconds to prepare, to think of an opening line, a justification for why she had come to the school.

Minerva opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before she finally spoke, but it was clear in an instant why she had done it. She had gone to call the girl Anastasia, the way she always had done before. "Narcissa. What are you doing here?"

"I needed to see you." the young blonde replied, wishing her voice was stronger. She tried to call upon the spirit of her sister Bellatrix, the fire that seemed to come so effortlessly to her, but all she could think about was Andromeda. "I need your help, I don't know what to do."

"Do you not have family you can go to for help?" Minerva's voice was soft, the address the same she would make to any other student, but that was what made it hurt all the more.

"It's my family that are doing this, professor." Narcissa replied, her eyes filling with tears. "They've sold my life away without even asking, because of something that wasn't my fault! They've made an unbreakable contract with the Malfoys for me to marry their son!"

Suddenly, a flash of anger burst through Minerva's eyes, a very different type of fire to Bellatrix's. This was a lioness watching someone threaten her cub. "How on earth could they manage such a thing? An unbreakable contract must be made between the individuals, it cannot be made on their behalf."

"The contract states that the Houses of Malfoy and Black will be joined in marriage as soon as those the next two members of those families graduate Hogwarts." Narcissa stated, trying to remember the brief explanation Bellatrix had given her. "Lucius is the only member of his generation, and I'm the only daughter who isn't already married. There's no one else."

"No, this isn't right." Minerva protested, pressing a hand to her forehead for a moment, as if her anger were bleeding through into a fever. "You are not a piece of property to be sold, you should have a right to an opinion."

"Lucius wrote to me." Narcissa admitted, producing a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket. It had been singed a little in the Floo, but most words were still legible; even if they were not, they had been seared onto the girl's brain. "He told me that only the families could break the betrothal, not us ourselves. I don't have a chance, Minerva, my aunt Walburga will never agree to rescind the contract."

By now, Narcissa's eyes were filled with tears, though she did not quite know of what. Perhaps frustration at being ignored in a matter so important, perhaps longing for a life she could no longer live. She could not imagine them being of sadness to marry Lucius, not even now after all he had done.

Instinctively, Minerva reached out her arms, enfolding the girl in an embrace that both had wanted for so long. It was the best comfort the woman could offer, the only comfort in truth, and for those brief few moments, it made Narcissa's problems feel like nothing at all.

"I will not let this happen, darling." Minerva whispered, all the history between them in the last few years lost completely. "There must be a way I can talk to Walburga, make her see reason."

"It would take a miracle for Aunt Walburga to even recognise that letting me have an opinion is reasonable. In her mind, she is my guardian, and that is all there is to it." Narcissa protested, slowly pulling away from her embrace and wiping the tear tracks from her eyes. She tried to force a gentle smile onto her face, a show of gratitude for the efforts of a woman who was no longer obliged to do anything for her; the gesture did not quite meet her eyes, however hard she tried, and that did not go unnoticed.

Suddenly, Minerva's brow furrowed, her mouth forming silent words that moved so fast Narcissa could not catch them. It took a minute or so for the woman to look up at her again, her expression somewhere in the void between elation and despair.

"But she is not your guardian." the professor stated, a simple fact that suddenly opened a world of complexities before the pair of them. "Narcissa, when you went to your aunt, there were never any formalities to it. She lays claim to you by blood, but not by law. Perhaps there is a chance that the Ministry would intervene, if we appeal to them."

"Hold on a minute." Narcissa requested, holding a calming hand as she tried to process this new turn of events. "Are you telling me that Aunt Walburga has no right to make a contract on my behalf? That she has no right to make me marry Lucius?"

"I don't know anything, darling." The woman was quick to clarify, not wanting to get the young girl's hopes up only to have them dashed once again. "All we can do is hope."

And that was what they did. Over the summer, Narcissa and Minerva sent countless letters back and forth, detailing everything they could that might tip the scales in their favour. It was a secretive partnership, of course- Aunt Walburga would have been furious to know she was speaking with a half-blood professor outside of school time- but there was a familiarity in the conference that made Narcissa smile even on the darkest days. Perhaps she had not completely lost herself; perhaps Anastasia Selwyn was still a part of her after all.

A/N: They're on the case, let's see if it does any good! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review!