Chapter 27
NARCISSA BLACK
Even Hogwarts no longer felt the same as the school resumed after Christmas break. The revelations of his father's treachery had taken away what little joy and meaning she had found earlier in the year, and now a constant state of dread ate away at her.
Gone were the stolen glances and the subtle brushing of hands as she chose to avoid Alder and his probing eyes. It pained her, but her mind was in absolute distress.
Unlike Andromeda, Narcissa had asked to look at their betrothal agreement and its contents and had been shaken by its terms. Betrothal agreements were nothing new in their society, yet she had never heard of terms such as this.
Most of it was fairly archaic as she had expected, and yet it was the penalty that made her gasp, for if the Blacks were to break the betrothal, the amount of money that they would have to forfeit was enough to beggar them.
And already, her grandfather had shut out their family from the Black vaults, and if both she and Andy were to break their betrothals, it would ruin her entire family's name and standing. Her parents would be beggared.
Narcissa held little love for them, but they were still her parents. Cruel and unloving, but father and mother still.
Could she really be so heartless? Could she really be so selfish?
It was a kind of choice she had never thought she would have to make, and now that the burden was on her shoulders, Narcissa did not know what to do.
It was not as if she had not felt his gaze linger on her, or heard him pass by her, yet she did not have the courage to look him in the eye. Not when her heart was filled with so much turmoil.
And just as the weekend approached, and she found herself returning to the dungeon after a rather wasteful day at the library, a familiar voice called out to her in the Hallways.
"Narcissa," and it was the very voice that had begun it all. The very person who was the source of her inner conflict and doubt, and she took a deep breath as she refused to cater to him at all.
"I believe I have made it quite clear that I do not wish to talk to you," she answered without turning back, but Lucius Malfoy was not one to give up.
"Oh, I believe that you do. After all, wouldn't you want to know who was the traitor that betrayed our House?" and she stilled at those words, her mind raging as she tried to assure herself.
'He couldn't know? He couldn't!'
Yet his next words proved otherwise.
"I couldn't care less," she replied back, refusing to look back at him.
"Even if it was your dear sister," and Narcissa felt her heart twist at those words, as she realised that somehow he knew the truth. He knew of Andromeda's betrayal.
"You lie!" she tried to pretend, as she turned to face him again and saw a triumphant grin on his face.
"Oh, I can assure you that I am not," he began, as he walked towards her, as her heart leapt in her chest.
"And I believe that you know that as well," and now there were but a few inches in between them, as Lucius towered over her.
"I don't believ..."
"Don't play games with me, Narcissa," and his expression shifted in a blink, and the smile on his face was replaced by a raging glare as she took a step back.
"I tire of them!" he nearly shouted, just as he had that night.
"I don't be..."
"How do you think your dear eldest sister would feel if I were to tell her about how her own sister betrayed her family, her master," he threatened, as Narcissa felt her blood turn cold, for that would be even more cruel than telling it to the rest of the House.
And her horror must have shown as she saw a triumphant smirk appear on his face.
"After all, he is her fiancée, and your sister nearly had him put into Azkaban. How would she feel about that? How would Rebastan?" he threatened, and she had never felt so defeated in her life as she did in that moment.
"What do you want?" she gritted out, as Lucius's smile vanished.
"I want you to end these games of yours. We are to be married, and so you will cease all this nonsense of the last few months," he was quick to argue, as a feeling of defeat and pain began to tear at her heart.
"I know not what made your sister betray us like that, but I am willing to keep her secret," he offered.
"After all, we are to be a family. But know this, if the Dark Lord or your sister were to ever learn of what she has done," and he inched closer as she stepped back on instinct, until her back hit the wall of the corridor.
"That will be the end of her and your entire family," he finished, and suddenly the faint glow of a wand came from the side, as another familiar voice tore through the deafening silence.
"Get away from her, Malfoy," and it could have been anyone else. Anyone else. But it was not.
It was him, and Lucius's expression turned glacial, as he looked to the side, while she did not even have the courage to look at him.
"And why should I do that, mudblood?" Lucius retorted.
"It seems like you have forgotten our little duel from earlier in the year," Alder taunted, a smile on his lips, and she could feel his eyes turn to her, though she lacked the courage to meet them.
She lacked the courage to do anything as Lucius grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in.
"I believe it is you who has forgotten that she is more than just a student. She is my fiancée...." and Alder's wand moved on instinct, and the spell tore away Lucius's arm around her shoulder as she was pulled towards Alder, and he stepped forward just as he had half a year ago, as Lucius drew his wand once more.
"You forget yourself, Evans," Lucius thundered, as they stared at one another, wands ready for battle, as she found herself staring at Alder's back.
"She does not want to be with you," Alder argued, and Lucius scoffed.
"Now is that really true, Narcissa?" Lucius questioned, as he looked, and she felt her fists ball up, as she found herself pushed into the most consequential choice of her life.
"You should go back to your do..." Alder began, but she did not really have a choice.
Not anymore.
"You should leave," she said, and it broke her heart to step forward as she walked past Alder and to Lucius' side, who smiled triumphantly.
"Did you hear that, Evans? You should leave...."
0000
ANDROMEDA BLACK
The events of the gathering had only solidified her beliefs further. Andromeda had not expected much out of her father, but she had not thought that he would sell them to the Lestranges like cattle.
They were her daughters. Flawed as he was, she had hoped for that to mean something.
But she had hoped for too much from a man like him. The initial date for their marriage had been set for after her graduation, but with Bella's marriage set to happen at the end of the Summer, the Lestranges had begun pushing for a single event.
It was maddening for she had yet to finish Hogwarts, but she knew that they would not care, and neither would her family.
So, with her mind made up, she had gone to Ted, warning him that she just might have to drop out of school, and kind as he was, he had tried to soothe her aching heart.
Yet, in the end, there was little more than he could offer except for his undying love and devotion. He had assured her that things would change for the better. She was not sure how, but she could tell that he had a plan.
A plan to stir things up, yet he had refused to divulge any details. Though he had brought up something rather strange, confirming her own suspicions.
While the events from the Gathering had solidified her resolve, they had done the opposite for Narcissa. She had become withdrawn, and she had watched her turn absolutely pale and lifeless in the last few days.
She had thought it to be nothing, yet Ted's words had made her think that it was not just the weather or the exams.
And even now, as she walked into her room, Narcissa lay there on the end, hugging her pillow.
"Cissa," she called out, and as she noticed the wet patch on the pillow, her heart hammered with alarm as she ran forward.
"Cissa! Is everything okay? What is going on?" she asked worriedly, as she pulled her away from the pillow, and saw her face flushed and eyes swollen.
"Nothing," she lied as she turned away from her.
"You are lying," she retorted angrily.
"You did not even come to the Club Meeting today," and she had simply answered that she a bit behind on her work, and though she had believed her Andromeda had not probed further.
But she could ignore this anymore.
"You have been behaving strangely for days now," she added, as Narcissa's lips thinned, yet she still did not meet her gaze.
"If this is about the Gathering, then you don't need to worry about that. I will be with you every step of the way. He may be our father, but I will not allow him to make you do anything that you do not wish to do," she assured her, though none had done so for her.
"No, it's not about that," her little sister shook her head, and she could think of few things that could do this to her.
"Then what happened?" she asked again, and yet received no answer.
"Is it about Alder?" she said, and finally she saw a flicker of guilt in that eye, and she caught onto it at once.
"Has he done something?" she asked, her tone turning glacial, for as much as she liked him, she would never let him harm a single hair on her.
"Tell me, or I will bea...."
"No," finally, Narcissa met her gaze, her eyes wet with tears once more as the worry on her heart only grew further.
"Don't blame him. He hasn't done anything," and she knew that he was not like that.
"Then what happened? He was also quite distracted today and asked quite a few times about you as well," and he had even asked her to pass along a message that he wished to meet Narcissa.
It was a simple enough request, but one he should not have had to make, given how close they had been before the break. The two of them were hardly separable, and would sneak away to meet one another any chance they got.
Yet he had asked her to make a request.
"What did he say?" Narcissa asked, looking into her eyes.
"Not much, but he was troubled, and he said that he wanted you to meet him," and her eyes fell down once more, as Andromeda grabbed her sister's hands and held them tightly.
"Do not lie to me, Narcissa," she pleaded.
"Tell me what is happening," for only after could she help her, and she saw her hesitate as she bit her lip, thinking and contemplating, and it was after a minute of silence that she finally opened her mouth.
"He knows," and she frowned.
"What?" she asked.
"Lucius," she began once more as she looked up at her with a broken expression.
"He knows that you were the one who told the teachers about their plan of attacking Alder...."
0000
As always, you can read ahead and support me on Patre 0n. Help me write this and other such stories by becoming a Patr 0n. It would be pretty awesome of you and would help me out quite a bit.
www.Patre 0n.com/Drkest
Have a fantastic day!