Hey, Soul Sister [Lucius/Narcissa]

Chapter Twenty-One

Narcissa was thoroughly unprepared to open the letter her mother's owl had dropped beside her breakfast plate before flying off with an indignant hoot. She'd excused herself from the table and from her friends and made her way back to her dormitory, and now, she sank onto her bed and stared at the envelope in her hands, which had been formally sealed with the Black family crest. She never does anything halfway, does she?

Resigning herself to the inevitable, Narcissa opened the envelope and began to read from the parchment within.

***

I cannot express my disappointment in your inability to perform the duties your father and I assigned to you. You are incredibly fortunate that your father was able to dissuade Thomas Rowle from being angry with our family at large for this debacle.

You are also fortunate that the Malfoy family is one of excellent standing. Therefore, we will permit you to see Lucius. However, if you manage to ruin a second opportunity to marry into a bloodline with prestige, your choices will become very limited.

***

"Oh, you'll permit it, will you?" Narcissa muttered, tearing the parchment in two and dropping it into the bin beside her bed. "How kind of you, Mother. I'm touched."

Narcissa doubted any of her friends would understand if she tried to explain how difficult her parents could be on the matters of love and marriage. Cygnus Black had made a point of informing his daughters that he didn't believe in soulmates. He'd never had a mark appear anywhere on his person to indicate that he'd encountered his, and so he viewed those who believed they had as of a lesser breed than himself or as victims of an unfortunate illness. Narcissa recalled that when she'd been a child, her sister Bellatrix had claimed to have caught a glimpse of something silver on their mother's arm, but Narcissa had never seen their mother wear short enough sleeves to show her whether the story was true. Narcissa supposed her parents' complete lack of concern as to whether she ended up with her one true love was due to the fact that neither of them had done so, but she still didn't believe that excused their behavior.

She lay back, resting her head on her pillow as she stared upward at her canopy. Don't worry about them, she ordered herself. They gave us their blessing, anyway. Or as close as they're ever going to get to saying something like that. But even if they hadn't, it wouldn't matter. I've already made my decision.

The last few weeks she had spent with Lucius had been the most enjoyable of her life. While they had spent quite a bit of time together before this term, things had changed between the two of them. Narcissa had already considered him her closest friend, but now, she found it impossible not to smile when he was near. He had a way of making her feel as though she was the only person he cared to see.

No matter how her parents had reacted, she wouldn't have allowed them to change her mind. She had no desire to lose the happiness that she had found with Lucius.

Narcissa turned her head to glance at the clock on her desk, and she froze, a frown creeping onto her lips. A bottle of Butterbeer rested beside the clock, and her name was written on the tag.

She had no time to ponder this before Lenore strode into the room, her steps brisk and her mouth set in a scowl.

"What happened?" asked Narcissa, propping herself up on her elbows. Lenore sat down at the edge of Narcissa's bed and let out a heavy sigh.

"Don't you get tired of it?" she demanded.

"Of...?"

"The secrecy!"

"Oh," said Narcissa, sitting up fully and drawing her feet back to rest beside her. "If we're talking about what I think we are, then—"

"Stop talking like them," said Lenore irritably. "Always so cryptic. Never saying what they really mean."

"Lenore..." Narcissa laid a hand on her friend's arm, shaking her head. "You know they can't take unnecessary risks while we're at school. Talking about what they're doing would—"

"'Unnecessary risks,'" Lenore repeated flatly. "That's what it all is! One big unnecessary risk! Why the hell do any of them have to be involved in the war, any—?"

"Shh!" Eyes wide, Narcissa clapped a hand over Lenore's mouth. "Would you please hush? We have no idea who's nearby!"

Lenore closed her eyes and inhaled deeply through her nose, and after a moment had passed, Narcissa removed her hand from her friend's mouth.

"You know I don't want to get them in trouble," Lenore said at last. "But from what I could gather before Walden essentially told me to bugger off 'for my own safety,' things are getting worse out there, and Walden, Lucius, Augustus, and whoever else is with them may get dragged into it sooner rather than later. What the hell am I supposed to do? Just sit back and pretend not to be worried sick?"

Narcissa considered for a long moment. She would be lying if she told Lenore she hadn't been just as worried. Lucius was frequently preoccupied, and while she knew part of this was due to the deteriorating health of his father, she had overheard enough of his conversations with the other boys to understand that Lenore was right to be concerned about the war. Narcissa had been wrestling internally with whether she should press Lucius for information or let him handle things, and so far, the first option was the most appealing. She didn't want to upset him with her questions, but she also couldn't stand the idea of letting him suffer and doing nothing to help him.

"No," she said, shaking her head at Lenore's questions. "It's useless to pretend you're not worried. If I had to guess, he sees it." After she'd spoken the words, Narcissa realized she wasn't certain whether she'd meant Walden or Lucius. "All you can do is ask him. I'd advise doing it when the rest of us aren't around, and if he doesn't want to discuss it... I don't know. Hopefully he will when he's ready. But don't pick a fight over it. Your relationship is more important than being irritated about the withholding of a little information."

Lenore lay back with a heavy sigh, her gaze fixed on the canopy. "I really hate it when you're right," she said.

Narcissa smirked. "So what you really mean to say is you spend your days in a constant state of irritation?"

"Oh, shut up. Go get that Butterbeer on your desk—I saw it, and I know you've been holding out on me."

Narcissa rolled her eyes. "It's not mine. Or... well, it's addressed to me, but I've no idea where it came from."

Lenore turned her head toward Narcissa, raising a brow. "Really?"

"What?" asked Narcissa, exasperated.

"If it isn't from me—which I can assure you it isn't, sorry; if I had some, I wouldn't give it away—who else would it possibly be from?"

"First off: you're unnecessarily difficult. Second: when exactly do you suppose he would've had the time to drop it off? In the three seconds between when I left the dormitory and when we met in the Common Room?"

"Fine. I'll get it." Lenore rolled her eyes and sat up, sliding to her feet and grabbing the bottle from the desk. She opened it and sat back on the bed, and a moment after she'd retaken her seat, Narcissa reached out and grabbed the bottle from her. Lenore opened her mouth to protest, and Narcissa shook her head.

"It was addressed to me. I get the first drink." She stuck out her tongue, and Lenore elbowed her in the side. A few drops of Butterbeer sloshed out onto Narcissa's skirt. "Hey!"

"Your fault," said Lenore with a shrug.

Narcissa raised the bottle to her lips and took a drink.

She didn't process until a moment too late that the scent that reached her nose was not that of Butterbeer but an alluring blend of strawberries with cream, the air just beside the Black Lake, and a familiar brand of cologne.