Selected Listening: Breathe (2 AM)- Anna Nalick
December 1972
Narcissa Black
It was an absolutely dreadful evening at the Black Family Estate. Narcissa returned home to find her father, slumped over in a chair, drunk in slumber, while the echoes of her sister's tumultuous argument echoed from upstairs. She removed her shoes and ascended the dark, wood stairs as quietly as she could.
"You don't even love him. Don't marry him!" Andromeda shouted at Bella.
"He made a reasonable offer. I agreed. Love wasn't a part of it."
"He's who you're spending the rest of your life with...it should be about love!"
"What matters is my happiness. While it's not ideal, it will make me happy to have the power of the Lestrange family name and a place in the Dark Lord's new regime."
Narcissa paused at the door frame. There was a silence. She decided it was not a good time to mention her engagement status.
"So that's what this is about! That awful man who keeps killing muggle-borns—"
"Why won't you say mudblood? You used to say it! Ever since that stupid Hufflepuff—"
"No, I won't say it, because it's a blood slur. It's hateful! We shouldn't be killing our own kind. There's only so many of us left. This Dark Lord, or whatever absurd name he wants to call himself, is making it worse."
Narcissa wondered if she should reveal herself, but she found her feet stuck solidly to the floor. Her bedroom door hung open a few feet away, but it the tears in her eyes blurred it. She tried to remember the last time her sisters were happy together, but those memories were lost in a sea of competition and pain, jealousy and shouting.
"I intend to crush anyone who steps in the way of wizards regaining their rightful place in the world. There's no reason we should have to hide in our homes, praying that the daft muggles don't find us and try to burn us again! We should be ruling them! All of them!"
"You didn't used to say these kinds of things." Andromeda's voice broke.
"Not out loud, anyway." Bellatrix corrected apathetically.
"One muggle killed mother, Bella. Not the whole world."
"I'm sorry, was one not enough for you?"
Narcissa found comfort crying into her pillow that night, and she awoke to a tapping. Obsidian, Lucius's owl, sat at her window, holding a scroll tied up with emerald ribbon. She went to the window and opened it. The mottled owl handed her the scroll, flew to an empty perch she had in the corner, and began pruning.
Narcissa,
Please find enclosed the original documentation of the Malfoy family wards. The calligraphy is old, but most is still legible.
Sincerely,
Lucius Malfoy
It took her all morning to read through the parchment, at least six feet in length, written by an old quivering hand. She picked it apart, although many wordings she didn't understand. It was old English. The Malfoys came from a long line of politicians, and they found enjoyment in verbose paperwork.
Some of it seemed standard. Protective spells and requirements of pureblood lineage for any woman marrying into the family. She noticed it didn't mention the same requirements for men marrying into the family, which she thought was odd until she read further into the document.
Every generation of the Malfoy family will be blessed with one legitimate, male heir.
She thought the ink was smudged, or maybe she didn't understand the interpretation, but the more she thought she realized that Lucius did not have any siblings, and neither did his father, and neither did his grandfather. In fact, she didn't know any women who had been born into the family. All at once, she came to a horrifying realization that this was not by convenient accident.
The door to her room opened, and Andromeda rushed in.
"Oh! I thought you went downstairs for breakfast. You aren't even dressed yet." She said quickly and stuffed a wad of parchment into her pocket.
Normally, Cissa would question her sister on what she was doing in her bedroom and why she was hiding things in her pockets, but she was still too stunned by the document in front of her to respond.
"What's that, are you alright?" An' asked, coming to peak over her shoulder.
"Um—" Narcissa rolled it up quickly and retied the ribbon. "Nothing it's just, something I have to read for alchemy. It's pretty difficult you know, lots of old texts." She stuffed the document in her vanity drawer.
"Oh, they didn't offer that my year. It's a pretty rare elective."
The two stared at each other with completely different thoughts on their minds.
"Do you need something?" Cissa asked.
"Um, no. But you should get ready for the party. Aren't you decorating? Guests will be arriving a few hours." Narcissa nodded and tried to distract herself by worrying about her sister.
"How do you feel today? Still queasy?"
"Only always. I think this one's going to be a spitfire." Andromeda placed a protective hand over her stomach. Narcissa's countenance fell. She looked back to the series of jewels and pretty knickknacks scattered across the desk. Some were gifts. Some she bought herself. Some she found unattended in the Slytherin common room.
"I overheard you and Bella talking last night. I'm sorry." She said. Andromeda's face darkened.
"It can't be helped." Her voice cracked. "You know she's too stubborn to listen to any of us."
"Maybe one day, things will go back to the way they were." Narcissa hoped.
"Maybe." Andromeda's voice had quieted to a whisper, but then she saw something and grinned.
"Did you take this from my room?" She picked up a souvenir postcard Ted brought her after his family trip to Rome. It came from one of the many chapels of the Vatican City, gold embossed. It featured three women with gold halos being chased by two men with swords.
"I found it in your wastebasket, I thought you didn't want it." Narcissa lied, but she could tell by An's tone that she wasn't angry.
"You're right. I didn't. You know how I hate clutter." An' smiled and flipped the card over. It gave the description of three sisters, now saints, who died protecting their faith: Menodora, Metrodora, and Nymphadora. The third name was circled in green ink.
"Did you mark this one?" An' asked. Narcissa's voice caught.
"I thought it would make a pretty girl's name one day..."
"That's a mouthful. If you have a girl, she's going to hate it."
Narcissa stared back at her sister and wished for lots of things. She wished they could go back in time and stop mother from going out to London so late. She wished Bella and Andromeda had stayed better friends or would at least give up their feud and speak civilly. She wished witches in pureblood families had more rights than they did. And she wished she didn't have to sign a centuries-old document to marry the man she loved. But even though all of her family members were named after stars, there were not enough to grant all those wishes.
"I'm not." She replied
Bellatrix Black
Bellatrix pulled her brush through her curly nest of hair, but only got about half-way through before giving up. She dumped the brush on her vanity, slumped her head onto its surface, and yelled across the hall.
"Cissaaaaa." She whined and pounded her forehead against the wood surface. Within a few seconds, Cissa arrived, stuffing her wand in her pocket from hanging fairy lights.
"What? Are you not ready yet?"
"It's my hair, my stupid hair. It's more unmanageable by the second."
"It wouldn't be if you used the products I gave you."
Bellatrix wrinkled her nose and pouted.
"I don't like those, they smell funny."
"We all have to suffer for beauty, Bella." Narcissa snapped.
Bellatrix made an awful snorting noise.
"I shouldn't have to look beautiful to rule the world."
Bellatrix continued making faces at herself in the mirror as Narcissa rolled her eyes, disappeared, and returned with an armful of Potter's Apothecary products. She spilled them on to the wooden surface. They had been their mother's trusted line for years, but Narcissa seemed to be the only one who kept any of her traditions. Bella glared at the labels.
"These are men's products."
"Only some of them. I gave them to Lucius too, but he ripped all the labels off."
"Why'd he do that?" Bella asked.
"His father had a rivalry with a Potter once, and he whined about it so much at home that Lucius can't stand the name anymore."
"Lucius is a whiny bitch too. I can't believe you're marrying him." Bellatrix observed as her sister poked her head with another bobby pin. "Ow, that hurts."
"Deal with it."
Bella tried to sit up straight and be lady like as her sister tackled the rest of her hair. She considered her decisions over the last day and wondered if she made the right choice. There was no guarantee that marrying Rodolphus would place her any closer to The Dark Lord, or any guarantees that she would be treated well once she reached Lestrange Manor. The family had a bit of a twisted history. All of the Sacred 28 did, but the Lestrange's was a particularly horrid tale. She wasn't sure how she felt about being part of it.
"Bella?" Narcissa asked, quite timidly, as she worked on one of her braids.
"Mm?"
"Do you have to sign any vows for marrying Rodolphus? Was there any paperwork involved for old family spells and such?"
"Ours was a verbal agreement, but I'll ensure it's put in writing before the day of."
"Anything about child-bearing?"
"I'm not having any." Bellatrix declared. "Little ankle biters? No, thank you."
"He let you off, just like that?"
"I wouldn't have said yes otherwise. He wants to serve Lord Voldemort, so do I. Children would only complicate things...why do you ask?"
Narcissa told her about the Malfoy wards, to which Bellatrix could only raise a wicked eyebrow.
"Don't sign it. Have him change it, or no deal."
"I can't. They're hundreds of years old. The wards are binding."
"If he loves you...this love thing you and An' are so fond of...he'll find a way."
Bellatrix watched as her sister finished the last braid and secured it all back with a shiny black barrette. Then she sighed.
"I don't know the first thing about raising a boy. I grew up with you, and An', and mother, and a Slytherin dorm full of girls." Narcissa whined, and then collapsed on the bed.
"Well, there's cousin Sirius, but he's a lost cause. Regulus is turning out alright, but he's only eleven. So difficult to tell." She remarked.
"Merlin, if he turns out like Sirius, I don't want a son." Narcissa shook her head.
"Look at me. Look at me this instant." Bellatrix turned to her sister, grabbed her shoulder with one hand, and pointed to her own face with the other. It was time Cissa stood up for herself instead of subduing her presence in the background.
"You're a strong, independent, Black witch, and you don't need no Lucius Malfoy. Have him change it or no deal." Bella stared down her sister with the most intense gaze she could summon until Narcissa's turned fearful.
A deep voice cleared his throat behind them. It was their father. Cygnus stood in the doorway in his formal black robes, which weren't much different than his regular black robes. He seemed slightly perturbed by his daughters' argument.
"Bella, they're ready for you."
Bellatrix met Rodolphus at the top of the stairs. He offered his arm, and she took it gracefully with a pleasant smile.
"Bellatrix, how are you today?" He asked politely.
"Well enough." She replied. She glanced over the banister to find the most powerful witches and wizards of pureblood society filtering in to their large, open atrium. The hum of conversation and clinking of glassware floated up to them. Most were members of The Sacred 28 Foundation. The others, related crews of Slytherin alumni and esteemed governors. She spotted Narcissa with Lucius, fluttering about the room to speak to everyone and Andromeda, hovering in the corner, avoiding old classmates, skittish. Bellatrix decided she was hiding something. Andromeda tried to tell her something the night before, but once she heard Bella finally agreed to the arrangement with Lestrange, she never said what she planned to.
"Aren't you happy for the attention this evening?" Rodolphus asked. Bellatrix stared straight ahead.
"Not really." She replied. "I want our agreements in the form of an unbreakable vow." She stated plainly. He made an annoyed grunt.
"That's a tad extreme." He said. "I told you we have the same ambitions, and I don't care about having children."
"You say that now, but accidents happen. An imperio here, an obliviate there. Threat of death usually protects against such accidents."
"I wouldn't—"
"If you wouldn't, then the unbreakable vow shouldn't be a problem." He glared at her, and she responded with no emotion.
"We can discuss formalities later, but I have invited a very esteemed guest, and I think you'll—"
Cygnus Black clinked his glass for everyone's attention.
"I thank you all for being here tonight as we celebrate the coming union of my daughter, Bellatrix, and her betrothed, Rodolphus Lestrange." The couple understood the signal and descended the stairs. The party cheered. "I am proud of my daughter and enthused she found a match from such an illustrious background. Will you join me in wishing them years of happiness and a bountiful family?"
As the crowd raised their glasses, the front door swung open. A dark shadow appeared in the doorway. The cloaked figure walked in, followed by similar-looking friends who followed along behind him. The door closed and the man removed his hood.
Bella's breath caught in her chest.
He was older, maybe 50, still he was very handsome. There were little things, the line of his nose, the fading of his hair color that showed signs of aging, or maybe something else. The crowd turned to him. Some gasped and backed away to make room as he paced about.
"Excuse me for tardiness." He said. Dotty scrambled to hand the man a glass of champagne. He took it and ignored the creature. "This is a joyous occasion, is it not?"
Cygnus stood in such utter disbelief he couldn't reply.
"The union of two pureblood magic people. It brings my heart peace to know that some still believe in the traditional ways of our society. That we are one link stronger in our united front against the muggles and mudbloods who would like to soil the essence of magic. We are one step closer to taking back what is rightfully ours...
"I can't thank Rodolfus enough for the kind invitation." He said.
Rodufus nodded respectfully.
"Of course, Dark Lord. Thank you for taking the time to be here."
"Here's to the happy couple." The Dark Lord raised his glass. The crowd cheered again. Bella stood awestruck, so much, that she forgot to raise her own glass, and she didn't notice Andromeda slip by on the staircase.
Andromeda Black
Andromeda dashed up the stairs, the Riddle's words ringing in her ears, knowing she had to leave as quickly as possible. She reached her room, folded the last of her things into the hatbox with an expansion spell, and secured it shut. She fit a whole closet worth of clothes, most of her favorite books, and half of her keepsakes. Her magical tendencies for organization could come in handy in an emergency.
This is it, she thought. She took the note for Cissa and stole across the hall, leaving it behind the postcard before high tailing it back to the window.
Where in Merlin's beard was Sirius?
He said he would be there at six o'clock.
It was already six o' two.
In the distance, she heard a strange noise, a rumbling. One she couldn't believe came from a broom or even a muggle automobile, and it pulled right up to her window.
"Hello cousin! Ready to fly the coop?" Sirius asked. His dark hair hung chin-length now, and peach fuzz inched across his upper lip. Every time they met, he looked more like rebel than a proper wizard. He rode on the large rumbling thing that she couldn't properly identify, a bulked-up bicycle with a pocket on the side.
"Where in the world did you find this? At school?" She asked.
"Got it from a friend." Sirius smiled a quirky grin.
"This isn't quiet! Or subtle! I asked for subtle."
"I don't do subtle. Gryffindor, remember? You asked for a way out, you're going out with a bang."
"You're fourteen, is this even legal?"
"Might I point out that you are the twenty-one-year-old, pregnant woman asking a fourteen-year-old, disowned hooligan for help." She looked over her shoulder, back at Sirius, and placed a free hand on her abdomen.
"You can pilot this safely? My stomach isn't made of iron at the moment."
"Got it this far, didn't I? Besides, I wouldn't question the getaway driver. If you vomit, you clean it up. Hand me your shit." She gave him the hat box, and he placed it on the floor of the attached side-cart.
Andromeda looked back into her bedroom, the hallway, the house. Downstairs, her sisters were enjoying the party as much as they tended to enjoy anything. Her father prepared a toast. The crѐme de la crѐme of pureblood society celebrated the engagement of a young woman who didn't like her betrothed. A young woman, recently engaged, wasn't sure anymore. Andromeda remembered her mother, and how much she missed her. She wondered how her sisters would fair without her guidance.
"An', this isn't the time for second thoughts." Sirius said gently.
"I know, I just—I feel so bad. Leaving without saying goodbye. Father's going to be so angry." She turned back to Sirius.
"You can't, An'. You can't. They'll suck you back in. They'll make you give up your child. You'll never see Ted again...He's waiting for you."
"I'm scared."
"Give me your hands." He took her hands gently. The vehicle suspended itself without a pilot. She stepped up onto the windowsill. "You can't heal in the same place that made you sick. I learned that right fast. It's time you did too."
"What's that noise? Where's Andromeda?" Cygnus's voice echoed to them from the hallway. Footsteps pounded on the stairs behind her.
"Time to go. Take a deep breath...now jump."
Andromeda felt her feet leave the ground and she landed safely in the side cart. Sirius jolted the vehicle away as her father reached the window. Cissa and Bella followed.
"An' no!" Cissa shouted.
"Andromeda, if you go now, you'll never be allowed back in this house—"
"You'll pay for this, Andromeda Black! You'll rue this day, I swear it!" Bellatrix cut them all off, shaking her fist, eyes wild.
"Good riddance!" Andromeda screamed back, and the Black cousins accelerated into the dusk-painted sky.