Tourjours pur

Part 26

Remus finds me later, curled in a ball in the common room. I can hardly breath. Sirius is going to marry Narcissa. How is that going to happen? That wont work. Remus tries getting me to talk, but I can't bring myself to. It's not my place to say anything. Narcissa mentioned Andy getting pregnant. Andy didn't even tell me. I burst into tears eventually, and Remus pulls me to his dorm. I sit on Remus's bed, in shock, while Sirius lies in his bed. Sirius snaps, "I'm getting married."
My tears come heavier, and I wail into Sirius's pillow. Sirius continues, "Narcissa told me. Usually they wouldn't make a match until I was of age."
"I'm getting married to," I scoff. Sirius raises his eyebrows, and James asks, "Making a match? Like, choosing your partner?"
"OBVIOUSLY!" I wail, throwing one of the many pillows on Remus's bed at James. I continue, "Xavier Klein!"
Sirius sighs, "The betrothal ceremony is happening next summer. I'm supposed to be fixing my attitude before that."
"Mother wants to keep this a secret," I mutter, "She's not getting me married till the day after my sixteenth birthday, apparently. The ceremony is next summer too. I think it'll be a joint one."
"Wont that mean you have to get out of Hogwarts early?" James asks. I nod, before burying my face into the pillow again. James sighs, "That's awful, that's medieval, that's... that's..."
"My mother," Sirius and I both lament at the same time. Remus speaks up. He asks, "Who are you supposed to be marrying, Sirius?"
Sirius snaps, "That's my mothers final cherry on the cake. That's the last piece on her magic jigsaw. Cissy."
"Who?" Peter asks. I snap, "Narcissa. Cissa. Cissy. HIS COUSIN."
I grab the pillow again, screaming until my throat hurts. Remus hands me a glass of water and I watch as Sirius lies back down. He whispers, "Apparently, apparently Andromeda is pregnant and they don't want any more dirty blood in the family."
"Are there no other pure blood girls?" James asks. I snap, "Me. I'm the only other pure blood girl that isn't too dirty to marry, and you know how my family feel about me. I was under the impression that her and that weirdo Malfoy were getting married."
"Not anymore," Sirius grunts, "And they are dating anyway. She's fuming, really. Almost cried at the table."
"And Regulus?" James asks. Peter suggests, "Narcissa is quite pretty."
I snap, "Yeah, and do you want to know what else she is, Pete? MY SISTER."
James holds his hands up, and sighs, "Peter is just trying to help. I mean, did Regulus say anything."
"Not. A. Word." Sirius snaps, "Not a single word."
James sighs, "We've got until next summer, and we've got Narcissa on our side. Not all is hopeless."
Sirius mutters something about his mother, and I sigh, "James, I am sorry, but this isn't going to work. Sirius is marrying Cissa, and I'm marrying Xavier."

The problem with trying to find solutions to things like this is that there are none. For ages, we try and try to figure things out. We spend around two days lamenting, Sirius and I. Remus lets me almost live in his dorm, bringing me food. Peter asks, "Are you alright?"
"No," I mutter, "No, I'm not, Pete. I'm sorry for snapping. What day is it?"
Peter looks at his calender.
"Sunday afternoon."
All the boys enter the dorm, just as I begin eating Lupin toast. It's not really Lupin toast, but he made it, so I'm sticking with the name. Remus sighs, "I've got homework to do."
Peter sighs, "Actually, same."
Sirius spits something about being a marauder, and I snap, "Shut up, Sirius. Pete, Remus and I are all going to go to the library and get out essay done."
"Wow," Sirius scoffs, "You don't care."
I choose not to take that to heart. The library is the one place that is seriously quiet, and where Sirius wont come. I start the essay, brushing the ends of my hair on my lips. Remus rests his hands on the table, his eyes wide. He continues scribbling words onto the parchment, and I groan, sinking into my chair. Remus asks, "You alright?"
"No," I roll my eyes, "Look at what I've wrote."
Remus reads, "The uses of dragon blood is... the bit is absolutely unreadable... marriage. You see, if I was a slytherin, I might get more of a choice on who I could marry. You went a little bit off topic then."
I slam my head into my hands, and snap, "What am I going to do, Pete? Remus?"
"You could just get married," Pete suggests. I groan, getting up and storming to the dungeons. Remus follows me, so I go to check on my potions. I stir it gently, hissing, "Stupid family and their stupid traditions. How am I going to get married? You know, I kept trying to convince myself that it was a good idea. That marrying Xavier wasn't the worst option. It is though. Remus, what do I do?"
Tears prick in my eyes, and I hug him, crying into his shoulder. There's a knock at the door, and I look up to see Regulus. Remus leaves the room, scurrying off quickly. I look at Regulus, unable to say anything. He says, "I saw you and the half blood walking here. Wondered what you're doing with him."
"His name is Remus," I snap, "And I wasn't doing anything with him. We're friends. What do you want, Reg?"
"I wanted to apologise," Reggie frowns, "I know you're not coming home for Christmas. Mother wrote and said that you were going to Pettigrew's. Mother also wants you to know she thinks you'll do well with Xavier."
"I suppose she would think that," I snap. Reggie looks hurt, and I sigh, "Reg, I'm sorry. I don't want to get married at sixteen. Sixteen? I'm not even going to get to finish Hogwarts. It's fine. Do you want me to come home for Christmas?"
"No," Reg's answer shocks me, "Last Christmas was a disaster. We really don't need that again. You seemed happy when you came back from the Potter's anyway."
"Potter-"
"I'm not stupid."