Fanfiction || Amphierotic Bloodlines || Bellatrix/Narcissa || Part Thirty Two
Title: Amphierotic Bloodlines
Author: Sapphire Smoke cuzimastripper
Beta(s): supershineygirl (chapter two), dolfynrider (chapter three & onwards)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: NC-17
Length Thus Far: 235,248 words
Main Pairing: Bellatrix/Narcissa
Sub Pairings: Narcissa/Lucius, Narcissa/OC, Bellatrix/OC, Bellatrix/Rodolphus
Summary: Growing up in the 1960s in a family that expected nothing less than perfection, anything less than such was deemed unfit for a young woman of their status and was punished severely. A house that was classified as 'noble' had dark secrets hidden within those walls, a fear that only the people within experienced. The confusion young girls have growing up was more than intensified in there: it bordered on practically unbearable. This is a story about growing up, about surviving abuse, and about finding salvation and love from anyone you can, even if it’s from the last person on earth you know you should ever hold a deep affection for.
Warning(s): Lesbian incest, graphic child abuse, dubcon, sex between minors, addiction, anorexia nervosa, forced miscarriage, character death (minor), first chapter is un-beta’d
A/N: For NaNoWriMo 2010. This story is entirely from Narcissa’s POV (though not in first person) and will only include up to her graduation from Hogwarts. There will be a sequel later to cover her adult years, but for now I think this is more than enough.
Other Parts: PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE | PART FOUR | PART FIVE | PART SIX | PART SEVEN | PART EIGHT | PART NINE | PART TEN | PART ELEVEN | PART TWELVE | PART THIRTEEN | PART FOURTEEN | PART FIFTEEN | PART SIXTEEN | PART SEVENTEEN | PART EIGHTEEN | PART NINETEEN | PART TWENTY | PART TWENTY ONE | PART TWENTY TWO | PART TWENTY THREE | PART TWENTY FOUR | PART TWENTY FIVE | PART TWENTY SIX | PART TWENTY SEVEN | PART TWENTY EIGHT | PART TWENTY NINE | PART THIRTY | PART THIRTY ONE
CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN
“How do you feel about August 21st?” Narcissa inquired, looking up from her day planner. An array of bridal books and magazines laid spread out around her on the couch, even more being brought over as they spoke by Dobby, who set down another pile next to her.
“Fine,” Lucius replied, his tone distracted as he read The Daily Prophet in a large armchair from across the parlor. He squinted at something in the text, peering at it a little closer so he could make out what it said.
“Or we could do mid-July, but I’m afraid the heat at that time of year could become utterly unbearable if we had the ceremony in the garden.”
“Fine,” Lucius repeated. Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him, putting down her pen for a moment.
“And I was thinking we could hire a group of leprechauns to have an orgy out on the porch,” she mentioned casually, one eyebrow raised as she checked to see if he was even listening. She doubted it.
“Whatever you’d like.”
“Lucius!”
“What?!” he asked, nearly jumping out of his chair once Narcissa threw a magazine in his general direction. He shot her a dirty look and she sighed in annoyance.
“You’re not even listening to me.”
Lucius let out a heavy breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he put down the paper. “Honestly woman, I don’t know why you’re even bothering with that stuff now, it’s only Christmas. We have plenty of time and besides, shouldn’t you be studying for your NEWTs?”
Narcissa’s eyebrows rose, an indignant look plastered on her face. “Lucius, I am aware that you are a man, and therefore the incredible amount of time and work that is put into throwing a wedding of this magnitude utterly perplexes you, but let me make one thing perfectly clear.” She learned in, pointing at him warningly. “I will not be doing all the work myself. If my parents were still alive I’m sure they would do it all - just as they did for my sister’s wedding - but they aren’t. Therefore, all of this responsibility now lies on my shoulders and as you have already pointed out, I am still in school! I don’t have much time and therefore I would appreciate it if you pulled your head out of your arse for two bloody seconds and just have a sodding opinion about something for once!”
The shrieking, hysterical tone of Narcissa’s voice near the end of the rant made Lucius’ eyes go wide and he visibly froze as he stared at her. After a moment’s silence he let out, all in one breath, “August is fine. I prefer August.” He actually looked legitimately worried about what Narcissa would do if he didn’t just go along with what she said and it made her smirk.
“Lovely,” she replied, all of the anger in her tone gone as she settled back against the couch, picking back up her pen. “August 21st it is. Now, about the music… do you have any preferences?”
“Uhh…” Lucius stumbled for a moment, trying to think of the proper answer to that. He decided to go with, “Well, what were you thinking?”
Narcissa wrinkled her nose in thought as she tapped her pen against her planner. “I was leaning towards getting Celestina Warbeck to perform in person, but then we’d have to construct a stage in the garden and that could be disastrous for the azaleas.”
Lucius looked like he didn’t even know what an ‘azalea’ was; let alone why it would be hazardous to them. Instead of asking about it though, he replied, “How on earth do you plan to get Celestina Warbeck? Surely she’s booked up for concerts all through the summer, as she usually is.”
“Lucius,” Narcissa replied flatly, like he was being an utter idiot. “Our wedding will be the social event of the sodding season. If I tell her to be there, she bloody well better be there or so help me God I will find a way to make sure she never sings again. I don’t care how famous she is, she will not ruin my special day!”
Lucius looked at her like she had gone insane. Thankfully for him, the doorbell rang. Lucius jumped to his feet, telling Dobby, “No that’s quite all right, I’ll get it,” before practically bolting from the parlor. Narcissa sighed heavily, not understanding in the slightest what his problem was. She understood he was a man, but why does that mean he shouldn’t care about making their wedding perfect?
She heard Lucius open the door, his voice from the hallway carrying over for Narcissa to hear. “What are you…?” Lucius started, obviously surprised. “Actually you know what; I don’t care why you’re here. Your bloody sister has gone mental over this wedding; you deal with her.”
“Lucius!” Narcissa exclaimed, offended as she jumped to her feet so she could properly tell him off. She certainly was not mental. This was fucking important, wasn’t it? For God’s sake.
But before she could get out in the hall she heard the door close, followed by Bellatrix appearing in the threshold. “He’s gone,” she told Narcissa with a smirk. “Properly scared him off, have you? What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Narcissa replied in a huff, pushing a stack of magazines off of the couch so her sister would have a place to sit. “He just… God, he doesn’t care about this wedding and he’s leaving me to do everything myself! How is that fair?” She flopped down on the couch, but before Bellatrix had a chance to answer she asked, “What are you even doing here, anyway? I thought you weren’t supposed to be coming round.”
“Nice to see you too, Cissy,” Bellatrix responded dryly, folding her arms across her chest. Narcissa internally winced.
“Sorry,” she apologized, shaking her head before running her fingers through her mess of blonde hair. “I’ve just been… so overwhelmed lately; I didn’t mean to be rude.” She looked up at her sister, giving her a soft smile. “It is nice to see you…”
“I’m sure,” Bellatrix said flatly, clearly not believing her in the slightest. Narcissa sighed; she didn’t have the strength to argue. “Look, I only came over to let you know we’ll be having Christmas dinner at my house-”
“Are you going to sit down?” Narcissa interrupted, finding the atmosphere tense whenever her sister hovered over her.
“No. Anyway, Aunt Walburga wanted to have it at her house this year; some big ridiculous to do, but there was no way I was going to spend hours in that awful stank she calls a home, so I got Rodolphus to agree to have it at our place,” Bellatrix explained. “But I don’t have the first clue on how to throw a proper party, so I need you to do it for me.”
Narcissa stared at her disbelievingly; not believing those words really just fell from her sister’s lips. “You must be joking…”
“Cissy, this is important-”
“Important?” Narcissa repeated, anger starting to rise up from the pit of her stomach. “Bella, my wedding is important! I don’t have time to plan your stupid Christmas party; I’m running out of time to plan my own sodding party - which, in case you haven’t fucking noticed, I have to do all myself since Lucius is of no bloody help - and on top of that I still have to keep up with my studies because as it stands right now, it’ll be a sodding miracle if I even manage to graduate! I CAN’T DEAL WITH ALL THIS FUCKING STRESS, BELLATRIX! I JUST CAN’T!”
Bellatrix stared at her, eyebrows getting lost in her hairline. “Christ, Cissy. Lucius was right; you are going mental…”
Narcissa shrieked in rage as she started picking up the magazines around her and furiously throwing them at Bellatrix. Who the bloody hell does she think she is?! She felt like she was suffocating from all this stress and Bellatrix just waltzes in, demanding she do her job for her just because she was a complete lazy arse? No! No!
“Cissy! Narcissa! Jesus fucking-STOP BLOODY THROWING SHIT AT ME!” Bellatrix shouted, holding up her hands to block the assault of magazines that continued to hurl in her direction. But Narcissa picked up another stack, getting to her feet as she advanced on her, continuing to throw things at her sister furiously.
“You,” she started dangerously, accenting the word with another magazine that nearly hit Bellatrix in the head, “are a complete arse, Bellatrix Black!”
“Lestrange,” Bellatrix corrected automatically as she ducked, but that only enraged Narcissa further and she shrieked, throwing the rest of the stack at her with all the strength she could muster. “Okay, fucking stop!” Bellatrix shouted, finally taking it upon herself to grab Narcissa by the forearms before shoving her into the nearest armchair, holding her down.
“Let me go!” Narcissa raged, trying to squirm out from underneath her sister’s grip. Like always though, she found she couldn’t move. Damn her.
“You need to calm down,” Bellatrix told her seriously, looking her dead in the eyes.
“I’ll show you ‘calm down’!” Narcissa shouted, wiggling beneath her more furiously; so much that Bellatrix had to resort to sitting on her to keep her still, legs straddled on either side of the chair. “Get off me! I swear to God, I should have fucking strangled you a long time ago for being such a complete and utter-” But the rest of Narcissa’s tirade was cut off by Bellatrix slapping a hand over her mouth.
“Okay, we can do this one of two ways,” Bellatrix told her seriously, keeping all of her weight on Narcissa since she was still struggling beneath her. “One, I can tie you to this chair and force feed you a Calming Draught. Or two, I could tie you to this chair and give you a mind-blowing orgasm to calm you down. Either way, you’re getting tied to this bloody chair. However, the choice is yours on how you want me to make you settle the fuck down.”
She took her hand away from Narcissa’s mouth to allow her to speak, which resulted in the blonde screaming, “I don’t want you to touch me, you stupid fucking-!” Bellatrix replaced her hand on Narcissa’s mouth quickly, not allowing her to finish that sentence.
“Calming Draught it is then,” she responded sourly, grabbing her wand out of her robes before using the Incarcerous spell to bind Narcissa to the chair. She gagged her for further measure, not wanting to Narcissa screaming the entire time she was brewing the potion, which only pissed her off more.
Regardless, an hour later Narcissa found herself calm even if she didn’t want to be. After Bellatrix had given her the potion she untied her, asking carefully as she undid the ropes. “Do you feel better?”
“No,” Narcissa lied; hating that she should feel upset with Bellatrix and yet couldn’t find it in her to anymore. It was… well, it should be frustrating, yet instead it felt rather peaceful. It was entirely disconcerting.
“Well you don’t look like a crazed banshee anymore, so I’d say it was an improvement,” Bellatrix commented, settling back into the chair across from her. Narcissa narrowed her eyes, but Bellatrix ignored it. “Why don’t you just hire a wedding planner if you’re getting this stressed?” she asked, like her solution was brilliant, yet obvious. “I mean, honestly; you’re going fucking mental over here.”
“Because they’ll screw it up,” Narcissa answered in a tone much too calm than what the situation actually called for.
“You’re being a control freak.”
“No,” Narcissa disagreed, voice level. “I just happen to like things done perfectly; I don’t think that’s too much to ask for seeing as it’s the only wedding I’ll ever have.”
“If you won’t hire one, I will,” Bellatrix told her seriously. “I’m not going to see you go insane over something so mind-numbingly stupid as one bleeding day.”
“It’s not stupid-”
“I don’t care; that’s the end of the discussion!”
Narcissa absolutely loathed how everyone thought they could run her life, but due to the Calming Draught could not find it in her to argue. Part of her didn’t even care to, though she knew logically that she should. Silence washed over the room for a moment; it seemed as though if they had nothing to argue about, then they didn’t really have much interaction. Quite sad, if you thought about it.
But finally Narcissa remembered something. Something she probably would have taken notice of earlier, if she hadn’t been so angry. “You wanted to have sex with me,” she mentioned, looking up at Bellatrix. Suddenly that one simple sentence Bellatrix said earlier had so much meaning.
Bellatrix looked confused. “What?”
“When I was in the chair, you gave me the option of an orgasm,” Narcissa clarified, raising her eyebrows. Though that was usually the way it was with them, it hadn’t been as of late. As far as Narcissa knew, Bellatrix didn’t want to have sex with her (again, anyway) until she was sure this relationship was something she wanted. “Does that mean…?”
“I’ve already been here far too long,” Bellatrix interrupted, quickly getting to her feet. “I’ll deal with the sodding Christmas party myself, alright? Just be sure to be there. But I… I need to go.”
Narcissa disheartened a little. Maybe it didn’t mean what she thought it meant; if it did, surely Bellatrix would want to talk about it, right? So instead she just gave her a small smile, not wanting to push it, and answered, “Yeah, I’ll be there. But…” Bellatrix stopped mid-stride, turning back around to face her sister. “Occlumency lessons… you’re going to keep giving them to me, yeah?” Narcissa questioned, not wanting to outright assume. “I think it’d be best if I continued to learn, if… if that’s alright.”
Narcissa had never seen her sister look at her the way she was now. It was such a mixture of things that Narcissa found it hard to even describe. But finally Bellatrix nodded quickly. “Of course; whatever you want, Cissy.”
Whatever she wanted, huh? Narcissa had half a mind to say, “I want you”; but instead found the words sticking in her throat as she watched her sister turn and leave the manor.
A few days later, Narcissa found herself amidst crowds of people, all who filled up her sister’s home. When Aunt Walburga said a big to do, apparently she meant a bloody circus. Bellatrix didn’t look in the least bit pleased with how many people now resided in her manor. Apparently she wasn’t aware of how many people Walburga had invited which honestly seemed to be the entire pureblood population of London and its surrounding cities. Well, at least the more proper pureblooded witches and wizards. Anyone who thought they were anyone was at the Christmas party, which made this ordeal more superficial than Narcissa would have liked.
She was expecting a family Christmas, not this ridiculous hoo-ha.
Narcissa was nearly knocked over as two younger boys raced past her with all the grace of a buffalo stampede. “Sirius!” she snapped impatiently, making her cousin stop dead to glare at her. “Stop running. Honestly, you act as if you’ve been raised by mudbloods; stop being disgraceful to our family and act like a gentleman for one.” She looked over the boy next to Sirius with distain. “You and your raggedy little friend. My God, is the elf letting just anyone in here?”
“Here’s a gentleman for you,” Sirius replied before giving her the finger. His little friend sniggered as Narcissa glared, but Sirius was barely paying attention to her anymore. Sirius tapped his friend on the chest with the back of his hand a couple times. “Oi, James; look who it is! Snivellus. Here to make it look like you have friends?” Both boys laughed as Severus’ ears went pink, his gaze hateful.
“Might I suggest,” Lucius started in a dangerous tone as he stepped in front of his pet; blocking him from James and Sirius, “that you two find a more appropriate place for filth, such as yourselves, to be? Accidents are always bound to happen when people don’t find themselves in the proper place, after all…”
Narcissa rolled her eyes, tugging a little on her fiancée’s arm as she steered him away. “Lucius, don’t pick fights with children. Honestly, they’re not worth it. I know you enjoy your little pet, but don’t demean yourself on his behalf.”
“He’s not a pet, Narcissa,” Lucius protested. “Severus has a lot of potential, I assure you. He’s very driven; passionate, not to mention extremely gifted in potions. Besides, don’t speak to me about pets when you let that Burke girl follow you around like a puppy; honestly I’m surprised she’s not halfway up your arse as we speak.”
Narcissa narrowed her eyes at him. “Cassie is my friend.”
“Don’t make me laugh; one wouldn’t hold friends to such a low standard, Narcissa. You keep her around purely because she feeds your ego, nothing more.” Narcissa huffed, untangling her arm from his.
“Fine. Go protect your greasy-haired little monkey, make yourself look like a complete arse; see if I care! I’m going to get myself a drink, so if you’ll excuse me…”
In her haste to get some breathing room from Lucius, Narcissa nearly ran straight into the Carrow twins, who scowled at her. Narcissa shot them an equal look of distain as she backed up a few steps towards the refreshment table, practically jumping out of her skin as she heard Bellatrix say behind her, “I hear they fuck each other.”
Narcissa whipped around, almost knocking the drink out of her sister’s hand. She would have, if Bellatrix hadn’t been so quick. Narcissa took a breath. “Christ, you scared me. Wait, who’s fucking each other?” She turned back around, looking through the crowd of people.
Bellatrix nodded her head towards Amycus and Alecto. “The Carrow twins. Well, that’s the rumor anyway; that’s why they won’t take partners.”
Narcissa wrinkled her nose in disgust, making a small sound of disapproval as she poured herself a glass of wine. It was odd, really… this was the first time she had alcohol since she became of age; it made it lose a little bit of its thrill. Bellatrix noticed the look on her face and chuckled.
“Judging, are you? Bit hypocritical, don’t you think?”
“Shh!” Narcissa hissed, slapping her sister lightly on the stomach. “My God, do you wish us to become the topic of such whispers? Shut your mouth.”
Bellatrix merely looked amused. “Relax; everyone here is too much into themselves to give a sod about us.” She took a sip of her drink, before commenting, “Besides, it wouldn’t be the first time people gossiped about us.”
“What?!” Narcissa gasped, turning to face Bellatrix with a look of horror plastered upon her pale face.
“It’s been rumored we fuck each other,” Bellatrix replied, shrugging like it was no matter at all. “But if you listened to such rumors, I would be sleeping with half of the men in this room and you would be blackmailing Lucius to marry you, while pregnant with another man’s child.”
Narcissa’s mouth dropped open, aghast. “I am not!”
“I know you’re not,” Bellatrix replied, before nodding her head out at the crowd. “And what’s more they know you’re not. Everyone knows the socialites make up ridiculous rumors because they’re bored with their own dull lives; which is why everyone takes the stuff said around here with a grain of salt. The only time anything matters is when it becomes fact; once someone says they know something, then we’ll have a problem.”
Narcissa knew that should probably make her feel better, but it didn’t. “I can’t believe people are saying I’m pregnant.” She looked down at her stomach, then back up at Bellatrix; upset was written all over her features. “Do I look fat to you? Is that why they’re saying that?”
“Don’t be daft,” Bellatrix replied, looking at her like she was insane. “You’re thinner than me, aren’t you?”
“You’re taller,” Narcissa argued. “You’re bound to have more weight.”
“Oh shut up,” Bellatrix sighed dramatically, tired of hearing about Narcissa’s body image woes. “Just eat a muffin, will you?” She grabbed one off the table, practically shoving it in her sister’s face. Narcissa looked at it in disdain and Bellatrix arched an eyebrow. “Eat it or I force you,” she warned, trying to stop another bout of anorexia in its tracks before Narcissa became obsessed with the fact that people thought she was getting bigger.
Narcissa glowered, but reluctantly took it before biting into it. It tasted bland; awful, really. She chewed it with a sarcastic look upon her face and Bellatrix smirked as she swallowed.
“There’s a good girl.”
Narcissa’s response to that was her middle finger, carefully shielded so none of the guests would see her acting so vulgar. Bellatrix merely looked amused.
“There y’are!”
Narcissa turned around to set her eyes on Cassandra who was bounding up to her, looking excited beyond all sane thought to have been invited. Narcissa thought it would be a good opportunity for her… pet - as Lucius would call her (the git) - to meet the right kind of people so perhaps she wouldn’t be stuck marrying some half-wit. While it was a good plan when you looked at it, and when you looked at her (Cassandra looked absolutely breathtaking in her deep blue gown, her loose auburn ringlets hanging delicately to frame her oval face), but once she opened her mouth… well, it was all over. Narcissa had been trying to get her to become mindful of what she says, but so far it seemed to be a wasted effort.
“Wicked party!” she announced, bouncing a little as she placed herself to Narcissa’s right, tapping her arm excitedly. “My mum says it’s one of the best she’s ever been to! Oh, forgot to tell you how much she’s lookin’ forward to meeting you. Been tellin’ ‘er everything about you, I have; she thinks you’re bloody fantastic - an’ she’s so pleased I started makin’ friends with the right kind ‘o people… told ‘er you’d be round in a minute-Oh! Is that wine??”
But just as Cassandra tried to make her way to the refreshment table to grab a glass of wine, Bellatrix stood directly in front of her, blocking her way and not looking amused. “Who the bloody hell are you?” she asked, not even attempting to be civil.
“Bella!” Narcissa responded, shocked by her tone.
“Well you’re quite rude, aren’t you?” Cassandra observed, looking up at Bellatrix’s glare and not seeming phased in the slightest, while most people would turn and run the other way. “I’m Cassandra Burke; I was invited. And who the devil are you?”
Narcissa felt like banging her head against a wall; this was bound to lead somewhere bad.
Bellatrix straightened up, putting on her best intimidating look that still didn’t seem to bother Cassandra in the slightest as she told her, “I’m Bellatrix Lestrange, you disastrous little child; I own this bloody house as well as whatever sodding commoner it is that you popped out of.”
“Bellatrix, stop it; that was rude!” Narcissa exclaimed, horrified by the stuff coming out of her sister’s mouth. It was one thing to rub your wealth in someone’s face, but to call someone something so foul as a commoner wasn’t acceptable. Cassandra may be a little rough, but she was not a simpleton. “Come on, Cass; why don’t you speak with Severus for a bit before I find your Mum and introduce myself,” Narcissa suggested, quickly steering Cassandra away from Bellatrix.
“Fine, it’s o’ no matter, really. Though you never told me the mental one was so rude… can see why you’d hate to speak ‘bout her. Pretty an’ all, but a wretched nightmare, yeah?”
“She’s just… she’s had a lot to drink,” Narcissa stumbled, not exactly sure how to apologize for her sister’s atrocious behavior. “Honestly, she’s not normally like that…”
Cassandra just waved her hand like it was of no matter before flittering off to find Severus. Narcissa turned back around, her face contorting into a scowl before marching right back up her sister. “Bellatrix, I want a word with you right now,” she demanded. “Alone.”
“Fine, don’t get your knickers in a knot about it,” Bellatrix dismissed before backing away from the party, heading down the hall to the study. Narcissa followed, closing the door behind her. She was seething.
“What on earth possessed you to be so rude?!” Narcissa burst out once she was sure they had some privacy. “Cassandra has done nothing to you!”
“Don’t get up on your high horse, Cissy,” Bellatrix retorted. “What are you doing hanging out with the likes of her anyway; she’s atrocious!”
“She’s nothing of the sort! She’s my friend!”
“Oh please,” Bellatrix scoffed. “A girl like that; beautiful and yet lacks all class? Women like that only have one direction to go in life, Narcissa; and I guarantee in five years’ time she’ll be one of the slags I pay to lick my cunt at night. That’s not the sort of people you should be associating with.”
Narcissa’s hand connected with Bellatrix’s cheek, the sound echoing through the silence of the small room. “Don’t you dare assume she’ll turn out that way; you’ve known her for all of five seconds! That must be one of the most ignorant, spiteful things I’ve ever heard you say, Bellatrix. You disgust me right now.”
“Don’t think I don’t know what you do with her!” Bellatrix raged, pointing at the door to indicate Cassandra somewhere on the other side of it. “She’s nowhere near your level of sophistication; there’s only one reason you’d ever let a girl like that hang around with you and I will not stand idly by and allow your whore to enjoy herself in my house!”
Narcissa stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded. ”What?” she asked, utterly perplexed by her sister’s conclusion. “I’m not shagging her, Bella! Are you joking?” The idea was preposterous; sure, Cassandra was a friend and yes, it was kind of ridiculous - how beautiful she truly was - but the thought had never even crossed Narcissa’s mind! Not for a second!
“Do I look like I’m fucking joking!?”
No, not in the slightest. Which in all honesty, made the situation even more absurd. Bellatrix was having a jealous fit over something so complete unwarranted.
“I promise you; I’m not! She’s only a friend, honest! Bellatrix please, you have to believe me,” Narcissa pleaded, hating that they were fighting over something that wasn’t even happening. She grabbed her hands, but Bellatrix pushed her away, backing up a few steps.
“And to think I nearly took you back,” Bellatrix spat, looking more hurt than Narcissa was sure she’d ever seen her look. “To think I was so bloody stupid as to think that maybe what we had was real love, and not all this sodding rubbish from being abused. You know you almost had me fooled for a second, Narcissa; saying that it didn’t matter if what we were doing was wrong, because how we felt was the only sodding thing that was important. Bunch of laughs that was, huh?”
Narcissa felt herself cracking in half at every word that came out of her sister’s mouth.
“And you know, turns out the bitch of it is that you couldn’t give a sod about me; not really - you just needed someone’s cunt to shove your face in so you felt better coming home to your man, pretending that you aren’t the world’s biggest fucking dyke!” Bellatrix raged, looking almost on the verge of tears. “Because that’s all I was to you, wasn’t I? Just some quick fix before you went back to this ridiculous charade that you have the nerve to call your real life. Well congratulations,” she spat, “for finding someone else to do that for you. I hope you and your whore are very fucking happy together.”
Bellatrix went to storm off but Narcissa grabbed her arm desperately, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. “No, Bella! It’s not like that, I swear to you! How could you… how can you even think something like that? I love you! I love you! Bellatrix, please…!”
“Get off of me, Cissy!” Bellatrix raged, pushing Narcissa off of her roughly. “You made your sodding bed, now lie in it!”
“But I didn’t… Bellatrix, I’m not fucking her!” Narcissa cried desperately, for the life of her unable to understand how it got to this point. She was being punished for something she didn’t even do! “You can give me veritaserum!” she blurted out desperately, which at least made her sister stop for a second.
“What?”
“If you don’t believe me, then you can ask me when I’m under the effects of it, I don’t care! Bella, I’m telling you I’ve never slept with her! And I will not stand here and get punished for something I didn’t even do; I won’t!” Narcissa exclaimed, half of her still having yet to understand how this argument even happened in the first place. But she kept talking; begging, pleading. “Please Bella, I really don’t know why you’re doing this… are you just trying to find an out; is that it? Because you don’t have to make me feel like shit to do that; just go! If you want to go then no one is stopping you, okay?!”
Narcissa took a breath, another tear falling from her eyes. She wiped it away with the back of her hand, probably smudging her makeup. “I just don’t get it,” she whispered painfully. “You’ve never wanted to leave me because I sleep with Lucius, so why would you care even if I was having sex with her?”
“Lucius is different!”
“How?!”
“He’s a man!” Bellatrix exclaimed, throwing up her hands like that was obvious. “I hated it, yes; but it never really felt like you were betraying me because you had to marry him. He was a necessary evil; however this girl is not! She doesn’t need to be anywhere near what you claim is mine!”
“She’s not! Bellatrix, she’s not!”
“Well I don’t fucking believe you!” Bellatrix shouted, furious. “Anyone would shag a girl that was that beautiful and that clueless if they had the chance. For fuck’s sake, Cissy; I would fuck her! Do you honestly expect me to believe you haven’t?”
“Give me the stupid potion then!” exclaimed Narcissa. “If you don’t believe me, I’ll prove it! Okay? Just stop damning me for something I haven’t done!”
Bellatrix bit the inside of her cheek hard, looking Narcissa over carefully. She then asked, “You mean to tell me you’d allow yourself to be that vulnerable, just to prove me wrong? I could ask you anything, Cissy; you don’t know what you could end up revealing.”
Narcissa stared at her, determined. “You can ask me any question you’ve ever wanted to ask, I don’t care,” she told her. But then added seriously, “Except what I promised the Dark Lord. That’s one thing I don’t plan to ever share; not with you, not with anyone. If you really want to take this exceptionally rare opportunity, then you have to respect that. Otherwise - and I promise you this - I will never forgive you, Bella.”
Bellatrix looked at her, not seeming entirely too pleased with the amendment to the ‘anything’ clause, though was very obviously she was still debating on it. After a moment she agreed, “Fine. But anything else besides that is free game, yes?”
Narcissa knew she’d probably live to regret it, but answered, “Yes.”
Bellatrix arched an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued now. “This could prove to be interesting,” she replied, looking a little bit too pleased with this outcome for Narcissa’s liking. “Very interesting…”
Narcissa didn’t really like the sound of that, but she knew she couldn’t back out now without it looking bad. Fine, she may end up revealing some things she would rather not, but in the end it was a small price to pay to reassure Bellatrix that she really did love her. It was also a very small price in comparison to the last thing Narcissa had to pay to get her sister back; so honestly, next to her child’s life, everything else didn’t mean shit. She could handle anything.
But those kind of sounded like famous last words, didn’t they?
GO TO PART THIRTY THREE...