"So, let me get this straight," the portrait of Sirius leant against his frame, cocking his head like a confused puppy dog. "You want me to just waltz into Malfoy Manor, find the cousin whom I haven't spoken to in about twenty years and just ask her to give up one of the most stubbornly well-kept secrets of the Death Eaters, with no proof at all that she can trust me?"
Harry and Remus glanced at each other worriedly. "Well… yes."
"Mmkay!" said Sirius with a bright smile. "Anything else you want to know? Anything else you want to say to her? Do I have permission to annoy the hell out of her?"
"No!" Lucius Malfoy snapped, and then stared at the floor. "And would you tell her- that is to say, would you let her know," his voice had gone drastically quieter, "that- that we," he pointed to himself and Draco, "are, ah, in good health."
"Yeah, yeah, you want me to give her your love." Sirius rolled his eyes and Ron couldn't stifle a snigger. Malfoy's face went slightly paler, and he scowled at the floor.
"And say a hello from me, too," said Phenias Nigellus, who was in the portrait next to Sirius's. "I always liked my great-great granddaughters better than you, you know."
"Yes, thanks, grandfather, I'll remember that," said Sirius through gritted teeth, glaring at Phenias with loathing. "Well, if I've gotta do this, I'll be off. Cheerio!"
*
Concentrating hard, Sirius took a step into the wall. He felt the familiar feeling of walking through a warm sheet of water as he walked through the nothingness.
He then felt himself re-appear in his other portrait, and stared into Draco Malfoy's deserted room.
He took another leisurely walk through the wall, upsetting a portrait of one of Lucius's ancestors. Luckily, the Manor was covered wall to wall with pictures and portraits, so there was no room he could not go to.
He stopped at a portrait of Eckhardt and Galston Malfoy (Lucius's great grandfather and his brother, or so it said on the frame), pausing to snatch the glass of elf-made wine from Eckhartd's hand.
"How big is this place?" thought Sirius as he took a sip, "and where is that stupid cousin of mine?"
As he strolled through the portraits, he thought back on his life. He did that a lot recently; being stuck in a frame wasn't very exciting.
His relationships with his cousins had been largely negative, mainly on Bellatrix and Narcissa's parts: Bellatrix couldn't stand to be in the same room as him, as though he polluted the air she breathed, and when she did talk to him it was either insults or criticism.
Andromeda was the good one, the sensible one. She had been his favourite because she was fair, and she tried to treat everybody equally. However, she wasn't put in Slytherin for nothing, and had her occasional moments of cruelty, just as Bella and Cissy had their occasional nice moments.
Narcissa, while no-where near as horrible as Bellatrix, was not a very nice person. She was the one who had to spend most time with him and Regulus, as she was the youngest and closest to his age, especially when both Bellatrix and Andromeda were of age. And she annoyed him. It was her pride that annoyed him most. She was exceedingly arrogant and, as her name might suggest, narcissistic.
Admittedly, she had been quite sweet to him when he was still young enough to be considered "cute", but when she was around Hogwarts age, that was when her nasty side came out…
1967
He was eight years old, and he and Regulus were having a puddle fight outside their Aunt and Uncle's house.
"Sirius!" cried the shrill voice of his Aunt Druella, "Regulus! Come back here!"
Reluctantly, they went back inside, and stood in the foyer, shivering and dripping wet but smirking.
"What were you thinking?" she scolded as she wrapped them in towels. "Do you two want to catch pneumonia? Your mother will hear about this. Go and sit in front of the fire, you need to warm up before I dry you!"
Sniggering, they went into the sitting room where the girls were. Narcissa, who was brushing her hair, looked at them and sighed dramatically. Andromeda, who was reading a book intently, rolled her eyes and continued reading. Bellatrix, who was writing a long (and probably threatening) letter, acted as though they didn't exist.
"You two are fools," stated Narcissa. "You're completely drenched."
Regulus shrugged and sat by the fire, sniffing, but Sirius grinned.
"Give your favourite cousin a hug, Cissa!" he hugged her tightly, making sure to rub his soaking hair over her shoulder.
"Aargh, Sirius!" she freed herself, and he burst out laughing. "Now I'm wet! And you're not my favourite cousin!"
"Boo hoo!"
"Don't be so stupid. Andi, dry me," she ordered. Andromeda pointed her wand at her sister, not looking up from her book.
"Well, you're not my favourite cousin, either!"
Narcissa shrugged at him, and then began twisting her hair into an elegant plait.
"You know, if you keep messing with your hair, it'll fall out," said Sirius smarmily.
Narcissa paused for a second, and then continued. "No it won't. You're lying. Isn't he lying, Andi?"
"Huh?" Andromeda, who had returned to her book, looked up.
"My hair wont fall out if I keep brushing it, will it?" said Narcissa impatiently.
Andromeda's brow furrowed. "No." Sirius sighed. He had hoped she'd play along.
"See?" Narcissa sneered smugly at him, "I knew you were lying. I'm clever."
"Ok, miss clever," Sirius grinned, "are zebras black with white stripes or white with black stripes? What do you say when someone says your in denial and you're not?"
"Do you have any purpose in life other than to annoy me?" Narcissa glared at him with an expression of disgust on her face.
"Where do circles begin and end? What number comes after infinity? And why aren't you named after a star or constellation when the rest of us are?"
Her hand collided with his shoulder.
"Ouch! Cissa, that hurt!" He rubbed his shoulder. For a twelve year old so delicate looking, her slaps were surprisingly strong. Andromeda glared at them disapprovingly and Regulus looked entertained.
"That's for being an idiot. Why are you always this annoying? It's no wonder your mother loathes you."
"Mother doesn't loathe me, Narcissa. That's a horrid thing to say."
"It's true though," she shrugged. "She can't stand you."
"That's enough, Narcissa," Andromeda growled.
Sirius was fighting back tears. "Just because you're a Daddy's girl."
"No, it's because she does loathe you." He punched her, hard. He knew it was wrong to hit a girl, but she was older, so to him it was even.
"Oww! Bella! He hit me!" she turned to Bella, who was oldest and therefore the authority figure.
"Sirius!" she snapped, eyes pinpricks. "Do not hit your cousin!"
"Yeah, Sirius!" she hit him in the exact same place, so it stung twice as much.
"STOP IT! Bella! She hit me!"
"Nice one, Cissy," Bellarix grunted. Narcissa giggled.
"Bellatrix!" Andromeda growled, and then fixed her younger sister with a stern glare. "Nar-Nar, we don't hit, that is most unladylike. Now, what do you say?"
She pulled a face, and then turned to Sirius apologetically.
"I'm sorry." Then she smiled unpleasantly. "That your Mum hates you!" Seething, he grabbed a handful of silky blonde hair and tugged backwards.
"Bella! Do something!" squealed Andromeda, but Bellatrix held her back.
"Let them fight, it'll do them good." She and Regulus watched them slap and shove each other in amusement, while Andromeda stood, biting her nails.
It was only when Narcissa gave him a Chinese Burn that Andromeda pulled Sirius off her, and Bellatrix, sighing, locked Narcissa's arms behind her back.
"Bella!" Cissa whined, "He started it! He hurt me! Waa! Waa!" She pretended to cry onto her shoulder.
"There, there," Bellatrix cooed as she hugged her sister, and, over her shoulder, Narcissa shot him a scathing look…
*
"Yep, She was pretty evil," thought the present-day Sirius's portrait as he wondered through the wall. He was kind of dreading having to talk to her; he had only ever seen her when she entered Draco's room, never talked to her.
He had noticed that age had preserved her quite well: she looked a lot younger than her 42 years. He guessed she had that kind of glacial beauty that didn't die with age. Apparently beauty wasn't the only thing that hadn't faded. Her personality hadn't changed too much, from what he could tell: sure, she had grown up more, gotten more mature (unlike Bellatrix). Even her cute, cheeky giggle had been replaced with a more elegant laugh. But she was still the arrogant ice-queen whom had been his cousin.
Then again, he was being a bit unfair. With a guilty smile, he remembered he had been as bad…
1972
"Hey, James, wanna see something gross?" Sirius grinned. It was another Christmas holiday, and they were bored. He wasn't allowed his friends around his own house anymore, as his mother believed they were bad influences on him, but she had failed to mention this to her brother, and every time Sirius went round his Aunt and Uncle's house he invited James, Remus or Peter too.
"Umm, ok," said James unsurely. Sirius smirked and led them upstairs, to Narcissa's room. He pressed a finger to his lips and James nodded eagerly. Quietly, Sirius pushed the door open and James clamped his hands over his mouth to stop himself sniggering.
Lucius Malfoy was sprawled out on her sofa with Narcissa on his lap, lips glued. They didn't notice as Sirius and James crept over, and Sirius spotted the half-finished homework at Lucius's side.
"What does snogging my cousin have to do with the protean charm?" Sirius asked, noticing the title. They broke apart immediately.
"Sirius!" Narcissa slid off Lucius's lap, glaring. "What are you doing in my room?"
"Annoying you. Jeez, what does it look like?" Sirius said with a roll of his eyes. Narcissa ground her teeth to powder.
"Anyway, is this a privet party, or can anyone join in?" said James, batting his eyelids mockingly at Lucius.
"Sirius! Potter!" Narcissa grabbed Sirius by the ear and pulled him off the bed.
"Sirius Potter? Hey, cool! You're my brother, Siri!"
"Yeah, I wish!" Sirius tugged away from Narcissa, rubbing his ear. "Loads better than being cousin to Narcissa Black, who will soon be… Narcissa Malfoy! Dun dun durr!"
"Are you going to have lots of little baby Malfoys, Narcissa?" asked James innocently. Lucius paled.
"Get out of my room, if you want to live," hissed Narcissa in a dangerously low voice, eyes slits.
Sirius and James smirked, then simultaneously started singing, "Narcissa and Lucius, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G-"
"SIRIUS!" she made a grab for him, but missed. Lucius smoothed back his usually immaculate hair, which Narcissa had ruffled, and watched half-amusedly half-embarrassedly as Narcissa chased her cousin around the sofa, growing angrier and angrier. "Get out!" she furiously roared, and, sniggering, James and Sirius scarpered.
Next morning Sirius, James and Regulus sat at the breakfast table (James had stayed overnight) until Narcissa joined them in huffy silence. Bellatrix and Andromeda, being of age, now ate meals with their parents, so Narcissa sat alone with the three boys.
"Hey, Cissa, where's your boyfriend?" Sirius smirked. Narcissa glared daggers at him, and sliced her toast, artistically carving the bread into a skull. "Why do you like him?"
"Yeah, he's a git," stated James, licking jam off the knife so some of it was smeared across his lip. Narcissa looked away from him, revolted. "His whole family are; they're just arrogant pretty-boys with more money than they know what to do with, my Dad says."
"The Malfoys are respected in pure-blood society," piped up Regulus, copying his father's statements word-for-word.
"Whatever, Reg," Sirius grimaced at his younger brother. "But I think he looks like a girl." They sniggered.
"Hey, Narcissa," James said, "have you started calling him Lucy yet?" He and Sirius collapsed into a fit of laughter, and Regulus snickered.
"No!" snarled Narcissa, speaking at last. A furious blush had crept up her cheeks, standing out against her luminous white skin.
"I can't believe you were snogging him!" Sirius grinned. "And you were using-" He waggled his tongue about, making slurp noises, "tongues."
"I'm warning you!" Narcissa pointed her fork threateningly at him. Sirius held his hands up defensively, then grinned and waved them about.
"Narcissa has a boyfriend, that looks like a girlfriend! Lala lala laa laa-" Narcissa gave a roar of frustration, and stalked away, leaving her untouched breakfast and three boys in hysterics.
*
In the present, Sirius leaned over into another portrait and jabbed some old lady in the shoulder.
"'scuse, could you tell me where Narcissa is?" he asked. The old woman looked down at him through her monocle, her old, aristocratic face wrinkled with distaste.
"And how should I know where my great-grand niece-in-law is?" she sneered in a snobbish way. "She hasn't walked down this corridor for months, no-one has. Couldn't you see that from the inch-thick layer of dust on the floor? Honestly, Lucius should beat those house-elves more; they're not doing their job properly, they've gotten out of line-"
"Look, just forget it," Sirius muttered, and walked through her portrait, hearing her humph and mutter "riffraff". Sirius was just wandering whether she was even at home, when he felt something heavy on his shoulder. Someone had placed the diamond-studded tip of a heavy ebony cane there. He turned to stare into midnight blue eyes behind small oval glasses.
"I beg your pardon, but I don't think I've seen you before. Care to tell me who you are and what you are obviously looking for?" The man was tall and thin, with the typical Malfoy white-blonde hair.
"I'm Sirius Black, ok? And I'm looking for Narcissa." Sirius sighed. "Do you know where she is, Mr. - err-? Oh, yeah, right, Malfoy."
"Magnus Malfoy. And she's in Lucius's study; straight through this wall, into a portrait of Lucius- My cousin Lucius, that is, not my grandson, who was named after him- along the wall then, at the last door, turn right and you'll find yourself in the study. I must warn you, though; she seems fairly upset about something."
"Ok, thank you," Sirius said quickly before rushing off, thinking at least there was one helpful Malfoy.
He followed Magnus's instructions, running through the portrait of Lucius Malfoy I, and found himself in another portrait. It seemed to be an empty portrait, but instead of looking around it, he looked around the room the portrait was in. It was stacked full of bookshelves with books mostly on the subject of the dark arts, and in the corner was a rather large liquor cabinet. On the other side, however, was a work desk, and amidst the piles of paper stacked around the sides, was a person.
The person was undoubtedly Narcissa; she was resting her head on her folded arms, so he couldn't see her face, but her long blonde hair was sprawled out across her shoulders and onto the desk. She was wearing plain black leisure robes, but from what he could see she was awfully thin, even for her.
He crossed the room via the bleak portraits lining the wall, until he came to the one just above the work desk. He peered at Narcissa. She wasn't moving at all: she was either sleeping very lightly or dead. He gulped. The latter could cause some complications.
He peered at the other things on the desk. At Narcissa's right there was a photograph in a white-gold frame: It was of her's and Lucius's wedding day. The colour of the frame was fitting to the picture, as almost everything was white: from the cloudy white sky to the elegant pure white clothes they were wearing, to Narcissa's bouquet of white lilies, roses and narcissi to the creamy paleness of their skin. They stood proud in their frame, like a couple carved out of ice, only blinking or glancing at each other occasionally, their smooth smirks showing only frigid arrogance, which reflected in their eyes. There was something so serene and celestial about the photo that they didn't seem real, yet when you looked closer into their eyes, you could see the sheer haughtiness that made them human again.
Sirius turned away from the photo, grimacing. He hadn't been to their wedding, and had no intention of thinking about anything to do with it. Instead, another photo caught his eye. This one wasn't in a frame, but was half tucked away under some paper. Sirius manuvered himself so he could see it better.
The Narcissa in the picture didn't seem to be aware that someone was taking a photo of her. She had a little fair-haired boy in her lap, probably a five-year old Draco, and was reading to him from a book. His little eyes were wide with interest, and she was smiling and looking …motherly, so much different to the way she looked in the wedding photo. She didn't actually look that much older, though he knew there was a ten-year gap.
He glanced at the photo, then at the unmoving Narcissa on the desk. He smiled sympathetically. It was difficult to believe the Narcissa smiling at her little son in the photo could be the wife of a murderous Death Eater; she looked very… caring.
Sirius frowned. She could be caring when she wanted to be. He remembered the time when she could even be caring to him.
1964
The five-year-old boy woke with a shriek. Sirius had twisted and wriggled so much his blankets were wound tightly around his legs, and he was drenched with sweat. Panting heavily, he looked wildly around the dark room. He wasn't old enough to tell the time properly, but it seemed very late. He glanced around into the dark shadows creeping around the corners of his room, playing tricks with his mind. The heavy thrashing of rain against his window sounded like manacle laughter to his ears, and the shaking tree branches sounded like hissing…
"Sirius… Sirius…"
He jumped as a flash of lightning illuminated the room with a roar, and flung himself under his sheets. Quivering, he hugged his knees to his chest and pressed himself against the pillows, images of his previous dream reeling through his mind. Sirius screwed his eyes shut for a minuet, gulped and peeped out from his blanket. There was a branch outside that was being shaken by the howling wind, casting a knarled, moving shadow on Sirius's wall. He stared at the shadow, feeling his skin crawl. He didn't want to stay there on his own. He felt small and vulnerable against the penetrating darkness in his room. He needed a hug.
Summoning all his bravery, he stepped out of the bed onto the surprisingly cold carpet. Shivering, he crept to his door and stepped out into the freezing corridor. He wished someone had heard his cry and come to him, instead of him having to go into the dark, scary corridor.
His cousins were staying over, as they did on a regular basis, and he hurried up towards Andromeda's bedroom, keeping away from the shadows as much as possible, and grasped the handle of her door.
Locked.
He tugged desperately at the door handle, and then slumped against it when it wouldn't open. He hugged himself tightly, looking around the pitch-black house in panic. He wasn't going to go back to his room all on his own; he wouldn't be able to sleep without someone to comfort him.
He glanced back at Andromeda's door. Why wasn't it open? She'd be able to cheer him up; she'd make him laugh. He wouldn't dare go to his parents for comfort, they'd only be angry. Regulus would only cry. And he wouldn't even consider going to… her, especially after his nightmare. There was only one thing for it. He'd have to talk to Narcissa.
He padded his way like a small animal down to a flight of stairs, and crept up them, finding Narcissa's temporary room. He opened the door, relieved that it was open.
"Cissy?" he whispered. Narcissa was fact asleep in her bed, not moving the tiniest bit, the sheets pristinely smooth as she slept without movement. Sirius found it slightly creepy, actually, and feared for a pulse-pounding second that she was dead, but it was probably just the after effects of the nightmare.
"Cissy, wake up!" He shook her roughly by the shoulder, and she turned around, glaring at him moodily.
"Wha- Sirius?" she rubbed her eyes daintily and looked at her clock. "Siri, it's two a.m! For what reason are you awake so early?"
"I can't sleep," he muttered, staring at his fingers.
"I gathered. Why?"
"I- I had a bad dream!" he sniffled. Narcissa closed her eyes in aggravation.
"Don't you usually talk to Andromeda when you have a bad dream?"
"I was going to, but her room was locked."
"I wonder why," Narcissa muttered irritably, then propped herself on her elbow, so she was higher. "What happened in your dream?"
"Well," he shuffled forwards a bit, "well, it- it was Bellatrix!" he shuddered. "She was being evil, and she was laughing in this weird way. And I asked her what was so funny, and then- and then she got out her wand and killed you and Andi and Reggie and Mother and Father and Uncle Cygnus and Aunt Dr-Dru-" He paused to wipe the tears from his eyes "Aunt Druella! Who's her Mommy!" He sniffled loudly. Narcissa's eyes softened and she tilted her head slightly. "And- and then she pushed me through this black curtain thingy and I was dead!"
"Aww, Sirius…" She sat up, crossing her legs. "Look, you're shivering." She patted the bed and he sat down next to her, still rubbing his eyes. She took one of the fluffy blankets and wrapped it around Sirius. "Siri, I know Bella can be a bit scary-"
"She's always scary!"
"-But she's not going to be murdering anyone, ok?" she rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "It was just a dream, that's all."
"But it was real," Sirius said quietly, shuffling closer to her.
"No, it wasn't. She might seem big and tough, but she's not going to hurt you, ok?"
"Promise?"
Narcissa sighed. "I promise. You've got nothing to be scared of, I swear." She smiled at him reassuringly. He smiled back. "So…What does Andi do when you wake her up?"
"She reads." He got up, trudged over to her bookshelf, and pulled an interesting looking book from the top.
"The tales of the hairy heliopath? You want me to read that to you?" She took the book and glared at him questioningly.
Sirius put on his puppy dog face. "Pwease?"
Narcissa sighed, "Oh, all right…" Sirius smiled and sat back down next to her, snuggled up in his blanket.
*
"Narcissa…" muttered the present-day Sirius. "Narcissa, wake up…"
She suddenly snapped into action, drawing a jewel-encrusted silver dagger from beneath a piece of paper. Her icy blue eyes flashing, she looked around for the cause of the disturbance. "Who's there?"
"Whoa! Calm down there, cous, it's only me." Sirius held up his hands defensively.
"Who- Regulus?" She blinked at him disbelievingly, and gasped.
"No," said Sirius through gritted teeth. "Sirius."
She gaped at him, completely frozen. "Siri…" her voice died away, and her mouth curved into a sneer. "What," she said with forced calmness, "are you doing here?"
"Well, it appears I have a portrait hidden away somewhere. I'm not telling you where, as you'll probably destroy it."
"Get out of my manor!" She hissed, her long fingers tightening around the dagger.
"Not until I have what I want- whoa!" He jumped out of the way as the dagger flung towards him and pierced the portrait. "Yikes! A bit melodramatic today, aren't we?"
"I have nothing to say to you! Get out!" She hissed, her voice deadly, and turned on her heel, hair swishing, and stalked towards the door.
"Narcissa! I need something from you!" Sirius called.
"Well, you can forget it! I don't know what was going through your pathetic little mind when you thought I would help you, but, in case you hadn't noticed, we're not even on speaking terms anymore! Go away, before I have to remove you!" Eyes slits and glaring menacingly, she took hold of the door handle.
"You'll help if you want to see your little family again!"
She shot him a despising look. "If you're talking about her…"
"I don't mean Andromeda, I'm talking about your husband and son!"
Narcissa froze, her hand still grasping the handle. Then she rushed over to him, half running, and took the picture of the wall, clutching the frame with vigour. Her eyes scanned his tiny painted face desperately. "You know where Lucius and Draco are?"
"Yeah, I do. Lucius wants me to," he put on a drawling, high-society voice "let you know that he is in good health. Draco too."
She shook the portrait in vexation, provoking Sirius' motion sickness. "Where are they?!"
Sirius clutched his head to stop it spinning. "First of all, put me down." Curling her lip impatiently, Narcissa set the portrait down on Lucius's desk. "And I'm not here to just tell you. You've got to tell me where Voldemort's keeping the muggleborns."
Narcissa stared at him as though he was insane. She choked back a laugh. "You jest! Never, in your most demented dreams, did you think I'd actually tell you that?"
"Your husband seems to think so." Narcissa narrowed her eyes. "Apparently, he's on our side now. Claims he's going to help us."
"I- you're lying," was her immediate answer.
"Oho! So it's not true?" Sirius asked. Narcissa paled and bit her lip. "Woopsie. So, I guess this means Lucius is busted? Made a little mistake there, haven't you?"
"It doesn't matter. So long as we own your portrait, you can't tell our secrets."
"Hmph." Sirius knew this was true, unfortunately. "Anyway, are you going to tell me?"
"No."
"It's the only way to see your family," said Sirius in a sing-song voice. Narcissa shot him a withering glare. "Oh come on Cissa! You want to see your kid, right? And what about that hubby? Are you just gonna leave him to rot? Honestly, the only thing that'll happen is you'll be in big trouble with Voldemort and She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Narcissa winced horribly, and lowered herself back to the chair, a troubled expression on her face. She pulled out a packet of expensive cigarettes and a long, platinum holder and lit one. Sirius watched a torrent of smoke rise into the air; spiralling and unwinding into hypnotic shapes, then dissolve into the atmosphere.
"I thought you'd given that up."
"Started again when Draco left for Hogwarts," Narcissa muttered absently, smoke spilling from her mouth. She didn't look up as she spoke, but her eyes were fixed and glassy, working something over in her head.
"Not very good for you, y'know. I heard they make your-"
"Fine!" Narcissa stabbed it out angrily, causing it to make a hissing noise. "Can't you see I'm under a lot of stress?!" this was true: there were dark semi-circles under her eyes, and her hair didn't have its usual shine. She looked kind of ill.
Sirius clicked his tongue impatiently and Narcissa returned to her glassy stare. There was a minuets silence, and then Sirius sighed. He needed that parchment off her. Hmm, maybe he could annoy her into telling him…
"So, what irritated you when you were a kid?" Sirius stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Oh, I remember! Rubbish jokes!" Narcissa didn't move her head, but glared at him poisonously. He leaped into a portrait closer to her, grinning widely. "What do you get when you cross a horse, an eagle and muggle music? A HipPOPgriff!" Narcissa groaned and started massaging her temples. "What do you give a fish on its birthday? Fishcakes! What has four legs but doesn't walk? A table! What's pink and fluffy? Pink fluff!"
"What's funny," Narcissa spat, raising her head from the desk, which she had rested it on in agony, "is that your humour hasn't changed since you were thirteen years old!"
"You remembered what I was like at thirteen? I'm honoured." Sirius smiled sarcastically. "I thought you hated me. I was the little shame of the family, remember?"
"I detested you, make no mistake," Narcissa said emotionlessly. "And yes, you were indeed the family shame. You know we were gutted when you were sorted into Gryffindor." She scoffed, and turned away, sneering in disgust.
"Yes, but Andromeda managed to accept me."
"Well, we both know how she turned out."
"Why don't you just say her name?"
"You won't say Bellatrix!"
"Andromeda didn't cold-bloodedly murder you!"
"Oh no, she only abandoned us for some mudblood!"
"She wouldn't have had to run away if you'd just tried to understand what she was feeling!" They were screaming at each other now, breathing hard and glaring acidly.
"What was to understand?! She just deserted her family! She always had it in her to do that, all she needed was a little egging on, and you provided just that!"
"I didn't egg on anything, I was protecting her! Didn't you see Bellatrix? She looked like she was about to rip her face off!"
"Oh, yes, protecting her! That was the reason you ran away too was it? To protect her?!"
"No, I ran away because I couldn't stand anymore of that family's stupid prejudices!"
"Did you even think what it would do to that family? Do you understand how upset everyone was when you two left?"
"Pft."
"Don't you believe me?" Narcissa took a furious step towards the portrait. "You deserted your family's beliefs. How do you think we felt?"
Sirius swallowed guiltily, glaring at her in abhorrence. "Family, family, family, can't you just be independent for once?"
"Well, I'm sorry if I care about my kin!" Her voice went slightly higher. "Unlike some! How could you just abandon us, how could you just forget everything you'd ever been taught?!"
Sirius stared into her icy blue eyes, a small frown curling his lips. She glared back at him, her breathing shallow, and he was very shocked to see she was fighting tears. He sighed. "Narcissa… I'm dead. It's over. It's no use fighting about my life, when it's gone."
Narcissa gave him a long, conflicting look, sizing him up. At last she sighed. "I suppose you're right," she muttered, looking down at her nails. She sniffed. "That's a little sad."
Sirius's mouth dropped. "Sad? You think it's sad? It's bloody devastating!"
Narcissa glared at him in annoyance. "This is about as sympathetic as I'm going to get, you know. You should be grateful."
"Oh, yeah, sympathetic," Sirius would start another yelling match in a minuet. "Like you ever cared about me."
He had obviously upset her: she glared stonily at him, eyes wide and dangerous, and she completely tensed up. She flexed her fingers, and Sirius braced himself for more flying daggers. "Care?!" she spat. "Care?!!"
Sirius got ready for the screamed lecture about how she could never care about an insufferable little maggot like him, but what she said next completely took him aback.
"Of course I care about you!!" she hissed, still in that dangerously low, angry voice. "You are, no matter what terrible things you've done, my cousin!"
A thick silence followed this proclamation. Sirius blinked once, twice, three times at the woman who had "disowned" him all these years, while she stared avidly at him, once again close to tears.
"I don't-"
"Did you think I could just give up a family member like that?" she spat. "Bellatrix, for all the trouble she's worth, I still care about her! And Andromeda- stupid, treacherous Andromeda-" She closed her eyes in aggravation, breathing hard. "I didn't like you one bit, Sirius, but I- I never wanted you dead."
She sat back in her seat, looking small. Her gaze turned away to the wedding photo.
"So- so you do care that I died?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Would you say… you regret it?"
There were tears sparkling in her eyes. Biting her lip, she nodded her head.
"You know- you know why I died, right?" he whispered, leaning closer in his portrait. "For the Order. For their cause. Fighting Voldemort." Her eyes lingered on the picture of her wedding, though they were unfocussed. "You wouldn't want your cousin's death to go to waste, would you? Please," he held out his hand, though he couldn't physically take the parchment. "The parchment…"
Narcissa's eyes snapped back to him, and she looked half- fearful, half- angry. "But I- I am faithful to the Dark Lord."
"Why?" Sirius whispered. "What's Voldemort ever gotten you? Two dead cousins, an insane sister, a captive husband and a runaway son!"
Narcissa winced at each of his words. "I can't! My family-"
"Lucius was the one who sent me, remember."
Narcissa returned to gazing at the wedding photo, her eyes roaming over Lucius's coolly arrogant face. "He doesn't really want to help the Order, you know. He just wants a quick
and easy escape."
Sirius cursed the charm that stopped him giving away his owner's secrets. "You think he'll betray us?"
Narcissa never looked up from the photo. "Oh, no. He's been growing more and more regretful for ages. He won't join a side. Probably move us to another country."
"You don't think he's loyal enough to stay with Voldemort?"
She smirked. "He wasn't loyal enough to spend thirteen years in Azkaban for him, what makes you think he'll be that loyal to him now? No…" unconsciously, she lit another cigarette, and took a long breath. "Survival was always Lucius's top priority. Loyalty comes second."
"Well, if you want to help him survive, you know what you've got to do."
Narcissa's eyes snapped back to him again, but this time she just looked fearful. Her hand slid slowly along the desk, and Sirius's heart rate quickened as her fingers reached another knife. "Yeesh, how many daggers do one family need?" he thought, but she snaked past the knife and down until she came to a draw. She opened it, and removed a piece of parchment. She unfolded it, never removing her eyes from Sirius, and slowly rose from her desk, to show Sirius the paper. In spiky, black handwriting, was the word-
"Hogwarts?!" Sirius gaped. "They're using Hogwarts? Ten out of ten for being discreet!"
"Actually, it's very discreet." Narcissa folded the paper. "No-one goes there anymore. It was completely deserted when we first used it. Useful, too: all those rooms, all those charms protecting it."
"Right." There was a pause, "Right, I'll be off then. Uh, bye."
"Sirius!" Narcissa called him back just before he stepped through the wall. "Just so you know… I'm not doing it for you, you know. I'm doing it for them. Lucius and Draco." Sirius waited. "Not you. I'm- I'm not…" but she didn't sound so sure.
Sirius grinned. "Not even just a little bit?" His cousin stayed silent. "What's that motto I used to hate?... ah, yes. Toujours pur." A small smile creeped up Narcissa's face, and he left, half-smiling too.
*
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