Cunning or Brave
“It's not what we agreed on,” said a piercing voice, that Alice didn't recognize right away.
“You're the captain now, isn't what you asked for ?” a male voice snarled
Alice stopped on her track. She was on her way to the library to continue studying. Since Gryffindor lost, there was nothing to celebrate. At first, when she thought about studying in the Gryffindor common room but the mood was clearly not a warming one. So she preferred to flee to the library before hearing Sirius complaining one more time.
“Yes, but not like that !” the girl hissed “No one was supposed to know that recruiting Regulus was my idea” she explained
“Too late isn't it,” she guys said. From where Alice was, she couldn't see who was speaking, but thanks to the information shared, she concluded that it was Narcissa and Lucius. At that point, she should just leave and act like she didn't hear anything but she was far too curious to be that reasonable.
“I guess you won't come with me to Slugorn's party then” Narcissa declared. Of course, Narcissa was invited to Sluggorn's Party. Alice should have known. She was so happy to receive her invitation that she didn't even think about who was invited too. And she also didn't think to invite someone to go with her. The party is on Tuesday, in 3 days. And Alice had not a clue about who to invite.
“No,” said Lucius with an ice-cold tone, “You will go with me because it was our arrangement and you know what happens to people who don't go my way” he warned her. “Or did you... forget ?” he said insisting on the word “forget”.
Alice was flabbergasted. Did Lucius really threaten Narcissa? Did he really threaten to oblivate her? Without second-guessing, Alice took a step forward and cough really hard to make her presence known. She finally saw the two Slytherins and to no surprise, Lucius had his wand out ready to act on his treat.
As soon as he saw Alice, he lowered his wand, acting like nothing was happening.
“Sorry didn't mean to interrupt you, I was on my way to the library,” she said innocently, her gaze going back and forth between Narcissa and Lucius. For 5 long seconds, no one talked. And seeing Narcissa's unease, Alice blurted out what made not much sense but felt like the more appropriate thing to do.
“Narcissa, do you want to come with me to the library ?” she asked not sure of how to handle this situation. “To study for the next History of Magic test” she then added to make this whole thing more believable. Narcissa seemed to understand and went along with it. “Actually, that's a really good idea” she began before being interrupted by Lucius.
“Now, is not the time, Sytherin won the match” he grinned “ So Narcissa is coming with me to the Slytheryn's party” he indicated. Not once looking for Narcissa's opinion. Alice didn't think she could hate him more but he just proved her wrong. Narcissa seemed a bit lost, not knowing how to react. It was so out of character for her, it made Alice's blood boiled.
“You go party with your housemate,” Alice said to Lucius with a flat tone. “Narcissa and I will go study, after all, that's the reason we are invited to Slugorn's party and not you isn't it ?” she clarified before linking arms with Narcissa to take her along to the library. Lucius gaped but not one song came out of his mouth. He just turned his heels and went in the opposite direction, to the Slytherin Dungeon.
Arms still linked, Narcissa and Alice both walked toward the library in silence. None of them knew what to say. Alice was a bit uncomfortable. She knew she was bound to see Narcissa every day because of class but now she is walking with her to the library in her free time. That wasn't really how she hoped to spend it. The silence was weird. They both were not used to this and they could feel it.
“So Slugorn's party huh ?” Alice said, unable to bear the silence anymore.
“Mind your business Preppy,” said Narcissa in a defensive tone. She unlinked her arm with Alice's and took one step to the side to make some distance between them. Alice was much more comfortable, hearing Narcissa being the Slytherin Heiress than mere minutes ago when it felt like they were friends.
“Still with this nickname, Heiress ?” Alice laughed, “No but seriously, what's wrong with Lucius ? He really thought he was going to be invited to Slugorn's party ?”, she asked in disbelief.
“He's a Malfoy, of course, he thought he would be invited” Narcissa replied. Like it was obvious.
“He is too behind in class” Alice stated, “His name has nothing to do with his invitation or lack thereof”. Everyone knew Lucius was the cliché of a jock. Good in sports but not in class. “And names don't define whether you get an invitation or not” she added.
“Don't be so naïve” she answered exasperatedly. “Of course last name play a role in this, I'm a Black and I have an invitation, see,” she said trying to prove her point.
“You and I both know that your invitation has nothing to do with your name but all with your grade” Alice countered. But she felt like she just fell into a trap of some sort.
“Thank you,” said Narcissa with her heiress' voice. She has this voice, Alice noticed, that isn't like her normal voice. It's more like a ~show everyone I'm better than them~ voice”. When she uses it, it looks like she is the owner of the place, beaming with confidence. “I just wanted to hear you say it” she added.
Alice knew it! She should have seen it coming. She just gave a freaking compliment to the Slytherin heiress and now had to prepare herself to hear about it for the rest of her life. She had to do something. “So you really don't like to be associated with your family,” she asked, knowing the reaction she would get.
“As I said earlier, mind your business” she snapped. Touché. Alice has learned her lesson. The Family’s topic is off limit. But she couldn't resist asking more about it. The curious side in her she guessed.
“No, but I get it, as an heiress, it must be sooooo difficult to bear all of this weight on your shoulder,” she said seeking a reaction from Narcissa. “Especially since Andromeda isn't really meeting all of your ~Toujours Pure~ bullshit”. At that, Narcissa stopped instantly, turning to face Alice with all her body.
“Don't talk about what you don't know” she scolded. “You can call me heiress all you want I don't care. But don't ever drag my sister into this” she poked her finger at Alice's chest. “Don't even dare to play the ~I understand you~ card, because no you don't understand anything. You, the Potter, The Prewett, and the Longbottom, you know nothing about what it's like to be in this family. You don't know what a family value is. You can't comprehend how family comes first” she continued. Alice could almost see a vein popping in Narcissa's forehead. They were only inches away, Narcissa still poking at her fiercely, making Alice step back each time until she met the wall. “You're just a bunch of naïve Gryffindors who never have to face the repercussions of their action.” Alice was against the wall unable to move or talk. “You think you are better than the other because of some reason, but look at you, always trying to do better than me in class. Always trying to find a way to prove you're better than me. Proving we're not the same, proving we're not friends. But the moment I got a better mark than you, you come running and try to be friends with me, with your fake ass sympathy” Narcissa's eyes are in fury, and she's breathing hard. In comparison, Alice doesn't seem to be able to breathe. “It won't work with me. You want to prove you're better than me? Ok, prove it! But don't be a hypocrite about it and try to be friends the moment you understand we are way more similar than you think. I was sorted in Slytherin because I knew what I wanted and how much I'm ready to fight for it. The only reason you're not in Slytherin too is because you hide your determination behind braveness”. She was out of breath. Both of them were so close. During her monologue, Narcissa never lost eye contact with Alice, her eyes pointing at her like guns. But now that she was finished, now that they were close, so close, feeling each other barely breathing, her gaze went down to Alice's mouth for only a second. Alice hardly noticed it. One second they were only 5 inches apart, the next Narcissa was leaving in fury.
It took Alice, 2 full minutes to understand what just happen. Yes, she was seeking a reaction from Narcissa but couldn't have seen this coming. Alice made a mental note: Family is off-limit, and sisters are even more off-limit.
She was now alone in the hallway, not knowing what to do. She was not really processing what just happen. But the more she thought of it, the angrier she got. How could Narcissa of all people call her a hypocrite? Alice always knew what she wanted, she wanted good marks, and she was ready to fight for it too. But that doesn't make her a bad person. She was always nice to people. Narcissa and she weren’t friends, she knew that. They were more like academic rivals. It's nothing really serious just some student banter. Isn't it? She was lost. It was like Narcissa was angry at Alice for having good grades and being proud of it. She worked for those grades! She could be proud of it! There was nothing wrong with that.
* * *
“And you, with who do you plan to go to Slugorn’s party ?” Sybill said, completely missing the point of this conversation.
“Are you for real right now ?” asked Alice. “I just told you Narcissa freaking Black called me a hypocrite. And you just choose to fixate on the party ?”.
After Narcissa screamed at her, Alice wasn’t really in the mood to study anymore and decided to pay a visit to her friend in the Ravenclaw common room. It was pretty easy to enter the Ravenclaw common room because all you had to do was answer a riddle. Alice loved riddles and was surprised that it was the only thing keeping students from other houses from entering the common room. The Gryffindor one was guarded by a password, which was more effective in Alice’s opinion. Of course every time the password changed, she made sure Sybill knew it so she could enter anyway but still it was safer.
When she found Sybill playing with Tarot cards on one of the tables, Alice sat down not so delicately on the chair in front of her and made a significant sight. Instantly, Sybill was all ears and listened to Alice explaining her encounter with Narcissa. But the reaction Sybill had wasn’t really what she was expecting.
“Nothing new under the sun then,” Sybill said. “It’s not like Narcissa and you are friends. Am I wrong ?” she asked putting her tarot card facing down on the table.
“No, we’re not friends, but it’s not like I hate her.” she attested, eyeing Sybill’s cards. “We are just academic rivals, nothing serious” she added. At that, Sybill let out a laugh. “What ?” Alice asked.
“It’s just that it doesn’t seem like ~Nothing serious~” she said stopping her movement and watching Alice closely. Everyone here at Hogwarts knows that you hate each other.” she explained. “It’s sometimes a bit much in my opinion, so much bickering in class and this ongoing competition on who’s going to have the correct answer first, it’s tiring a bit” she admitted.
Alice was taken aback. She hadn’t realized other students were aware of their rivalry. She wasn’t sure why but it bothered her. It was just something entertaining that motivated her to do her best. Of course, she gets satisfaction when she gets better marks than Narcissa. But it’s really just a game. She doesn’t hate her. To be fair she doesn’t even know her. Except for what she heard about her from other students, she didn’t know anything about her. But people thought they hated each other? Alice found it weird. Does Narcissa hate her?
“You think she hates me ?” she asked Sybil who was concentrating on her card now all on the table in front of her.
“I don’t know, does the girl you spend your time trying to piss off and get above in class hates you ?” she said in a sarcastic tone. “Yeah maybe” she answered laughing.
“That’s not funny Sybill !” she hissed.
“All I’m saying is that when we are in divination, she seems much more relaxed and a lot more friendly than when she is in any other class with you” she explained. “I don’t know if she hates you but she must not really like your presence”.
Alice was hit by a wave of guilt. Was this true? Does Narcissa really think everything she said to her?
“Why do you even care,” Asked Sybill. “You don’t like her either”, she retorted.
“Yeah I guess you’re right” Alice answered trying to seem relax about the whole situation. But still, a part of her was freaking out a bit. She was the nice one in the story and Narcissa was the mean girl. It couldn’t be the other way around. Could it?