"I can't believe she did that," Narcissa whispered suddenly. She had asked for a meeting with Yor under some white lie about some school questions but really, she had needed to talk with the woman she now viewed as a favoured aunt. "She just left me behind like that."
"Oh, sweetheart," Yor said, her heart aching for the seventeen year old sitting in her living room in their private Hogwarts dorms. She softly removed the trembling teacup from the girl's hand and placed it on the coffee table, "I'm so sorry."
"I just, I don't even care that much about what he is, you know? Like he's a Muggleborn, whatever, he's still a wizard, at least. I mean, it could be better, sure. And of course my family thinks it's a disgrace and they blame you all because of 'your terrible influence, mixing with muggles like that'," Narcissa rambled. She felt torn and heartbroken. She just wanted her favourite big sister back and she couldn't go to her parents or other sister with her problems. And really, she had no real friends she would trust enough with this. Not even her closest friends. Posy Parkinson would obviously side with her brother and Diana Greengrass would probably side with Posy because who in their right mind would run off with a muggleborn instead of marrying a pureblood? They just wouldn't understand.
"And Bella is being so cruel, Father locks himself in his study, and Mother won't even look at us. She left me all alone with them for a stupid boy and it hurts that she choose him over me and I just miss my big sister so much," Narcissa said, a few tears falling down her perfect, porcelain face like bitter pearls. As a Black and a Slytherin, she had long been taught the art of Occlumency and although she wasn't the best at it, she was usually pretty good at hiding her bigger emotions away under her "Ice Princess" façade but she couldn't take it anymore.
"Oh, darling girl," Yor said, softly placing her hands on her shoulders but not daring to hug her, afraid to startle the poor girl. Before she could say anything else, a voice called out from the door.
"Mama, are you here? I need help with my Transfigurations homework," Anya yelled loudly as she took off her shoes and put on her house slippers. Hearing no reply but some sound coming from the sitting room, she went into it only to see one of her favourite cousins in tears.
"Cissy, what's the matter?" Anya frowned. When Narcissa didn't answer, she tried to meet her gaze. The emotions had broken down the older blonde's barriers just enough.
"Is this about Andy? I'm sorry she left you just like that. That was pretty mean. Are your parents and Bella being too cruel? You are of-age now, though. You can leave them if you want. You can come with us. I'll protect you," Anya said, her fierce eyes shining the way they did whenever she protected Severus from cruel bullies. Narcissa looked at her, saw the fierceness, the way her magic crackled with that power only heirs and heads of families possessed, saw that it made her hair almost float and her family jewels glow. It was endearing to see the love and protectiveness the thirteen year old bestowed upon those she cared for.
"Anya, I don't think-" Yor said, trying to intervene on Narcissa's behalf. She was very aware that her daughter could be really intense. A trait Loid often claimed they shared. But giving that she was older and had more experience, Yor had at least some modicum of tact when necessary.
"Oh, Anya, thank you," Narcissa interrupted Yor with a slight shake of her head. Seeing this, Yor moved to pick up some of the mess created by the biscuits and tea to the kitchen so as to give them some space. Narcissa smiled gratefully at her before turning her attention to Anya once more.
"But it is neither your job nor your duty to take care of your older cousin," Cissy added. She did love the younger girl, having been left without her sisters at Hogwarts, Anya had become her biggest ally and almost like a little sister to her. But the sense of duty and honour the girl already carried had to be a lot and she didn't wish to add to her plate.
"You do it for Andy, why can't I do it for you?" Anya asked, head tilted in honest confusion. Cissy had been the only person other than her parents to constantly try and tell her that she had no duty to take care of them. But she knew that was a lie. As the Heiress to two very powerful Houses she had more power in pureblood society than any of them. Especially when the same society hated her papa for being a halfblood, thought her mama insane for marrying "down," and saw Narcissa as just some airheaded socialite that needed to be married off so that she may produce the next line of heirs. The whole thing angered her, really.
"I told you, Cissy, that if you ever want out, you just have to tell me. That means that you just say the word and you will be welcome in any of the Prince and Briar homes and taken in as a ward of the family. And according to Magical Law, you are of-age so you may come without any issues. They cannot stop you," Anya said, her family jewels shining.
"Thank you for the offer but you know it's a bit more complicated than that," Narcissa said softly. She had no wish to burden Anya by taking it but she wouldn't be a Slytherin if she didn't keep her options open. Understanding, Anya nodded and went to order some hot cocoa, hoping it would comfort her cousin as much as it did her.
"Cissy, oh, I'm so glad you're okay," Andromeda said, looking her sister over before hugging her tightly. Through the help of Loid and Eileen she had managed to get in contact with her baby sister. After all, both Princes had lived for a significant amount of time in the Muggle world. Narcissa, despite all her resentment, decided to accept the invitation. If only to be able to determine her sister's safety and have some peace of mind.
"Not thanks to you," Narcissa replied coldly, shrugging her sister's arms off. Andy gave her a hurt look.
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't do it. I couldn't stay there and I couldn't marry Plutarch," Andromeda said softly, trying to garner sympathy but Cissy knew her sister too well and a Slytherin used every trick in the playbook.
"So don't continue living with our parents and don't marry Plutarch. You're nineteen and can do as you please in either world," Narcissa complained, "But instead you ran away with the first half-decent muggleborn and left me all by myself. I didn't even know if you were okay, Andy! You could have at least told me, we could have come up with a plan together. Did you know that last year, after Anya became the official Heiress, she offered us a way out? She said the Prince and Briar families would take us in if we wished. But no, instead of telling us or asking for help knowing full well that they would support us, you chose to run away with a boy. You chose a stupid boy over the rest of us Andy. You chose him over me!" Narcissa cried out, tears falling down her face. She felt incredibly hurt and betrayed.
"I didn't know," Andromeda whispered softly.
"Well, you didn't even bother to ask. Thought you knew it all and just ran with it. We could have helped you Andy!" Cissy yelled back as she wrapped her arms around herself.
"I'm sorry, Cissy. I really am. I know I have been foolish. I followed my heart but I ended up hurting you too and I never meant to do that," Andromeda said through tears of her own.
"If you never meant to, you would have thought of another way. The truth is, you were selfish. You wished to rebel and you didn't care about the consequences or who would be left to face them," Narcissa hugged herself tighter.
"I'm sorry!" Andy yelled, heartbroken. The grief in her words struck Narcissa, "I'm sorry. You're right, I was selfish and left you defenceless. But if it's any consolation, I'm already suffering the consequences of my stupidly selfish actions."
Narcissa felt herself take a step back in surprise, "What, what do you mean? Andy, tell me right now!"
"Marriage contracts are not just legally binding in our world, you know this Cissy. In fact, knowing how clever you are, I'm sure you know the consequences of breaking one better than I do even if I'm the one suffering from those consequences," Andromeda chuckled coldly as she held her wand arm close.
"No," Narcissa whispered softly. In her grief, she'd forgotten about the thousands upon thousands of hours she had spent studying magical law in the Black library. The rules of the wizarding society had always fascinated her and as a Slytherin, she felt it best to know those rules so she could use them to her advantage as well as find wiggle room in them so she may do as she pleased without ever actually breaking one.
"No, no, no! Why did you have to be so stupid?!" Narcissa grieved. She would have to do it. She would have to get Anya's help no matter how she wished to keep the young girl out of it. Unless, well, there was always Lucius who would do as she asked.
"I'll make this right Andy, I promise," Narcissa said, grabbing onto her sister's hand before letting go and apparating away.
"I need your help," Anya said determinedly as she dropped several books on their usual table in the library. Her friends all looked up in surprise. They knew that Anya only studied because she had to and hated every part of the activity, so seeing her there on a Friday afternoon with a load of books was shocking.
"Are you okay?" Becky frowned, genuinely concerned.
"Is something wrong?" Emma asked, seconding Becky. She was just as worried.
"Is this about the Black sisters' engagements?" Pandora asked airily.
"Yes, how did you-?" Anya asked frowning and then shook her head, "Nevermind, I don't want to know."
"Wait, what about your cousins do you need help with?" Damian asked, confused.
"I need to find a legal way to break the engagement between Andromeda and Plutarch Parkinson and if possible, between Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy too. I feel like otherwise, Cissy will be convinced by her parents and Bella to do something very, very stupid," Anya replied with a frown.
"Wait, I thought Lady Narcissa wanted to marry Heir Malfoy?" Emile asked, confused.
Ewen sighed in exasperation, "Miss Narcissa Black suffers from the typical ailment that all teenage witches do: She likes being the centre of attention and Lucius Malfoy follows her around like the fool that he is. Of course she is flattered by this, especially since she has always been overshadowed by her older sisters, but it doesn't mean that she would be happy married to the idiot."
Anya frowned, wishing to contest his mocking words about witches but was beaten to the punch by Emma.
"Hey, now listen here you pedantic arshlock! Just because some of us like to be flattered, it doesn't make us fools!" the Slytherin chaser yelled.
"Miss Vanity, hush that ruckus or quit my library this instant!" Madam Pince, the school librarian, called out.
"Sorry, ma'am," Emma whispered while glaring at Ewen.
"Ok, back to the matter at hand, you wish to break your cousins' engagements but is that what they want?" Damian asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, it's definitely what Lady Andromeda wants," Becky snorted.
Anya glared at all her friends except Damian as he had a valid point, at least, "I'm not sure if Cissy will actually want out of her engagement but I have to at least give her a choice. I have already offered the protection of the Briar and Prince Houses but I'm also aware that marriage contracts are not just legally binding but magically binding too. That means that I must find a way out for Andy and at least an option for Cissy."
Damian looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. He could never actually say no to her anyway, "Very well. Although I think Lady Andromeda is making a mistake, we'll help but I'm not sure anything in this library will be of much help."
"Since when do you speak for all of us?" Becky glared at her cousin before sighing, "But of course I will help you Anya… However, we should also research our home libraries and maybe try to get into the restricted section somehow."
"Like any professor would be foolish enough to let third years use it," Ewen snorted.
"Let's start with what we have readily available and then search for other options," Emile said. Everyone stared at him in surprise.
"That's a good idea," Pandora said softly, moving to grab one of the books in the pile Anya had brought.
"Yes, it is. How is it possible you just made an actually good suggestion?" Damian asked, staring at Emile in shock.
Anya rolled her eyes and moved to give them the rest of them a book each before digging into her own. She was tired of wasting time and for all that she hated studying, she loved her cousins more. The rest stared at her in awe, knowing how much she hated the idea of reading school books and magical law books would definitely be a drier read.
"Will wonders never cease," Becky said, before finally moving to help her best friend. The rest decided they might as well follow too.
"Cissy!" Anya exclaimed as she got back to her dorm. She had spent a long afternoon and evening with her friends pouring through every single law book they could find in the library and with her exhausted eyesight, she thought she was hallucinating her older cousin for a moment.
"Anya!" Narcissa exclaimed, stopping her pacing to face her young cousin.
"I need your help. Well, yours and Sirius'," she said the last bit bitterly.
"Is this about Andy?" she asked. "We tried finding something about how to break the engagement contract but the Hogwarts library was useless."
"You will never find anything of true value here," Narcissa waved it off, "But yes. I'm surprised you even thought of the matter, but then again you're far more clever than most give you credit for," she added with a curious frown.
Anya simply nodded. She wasn't about to confess she had read her mama's thoughts on the matter and how that had set her on her course of action. Of course as a pureblooded witch, Yor knew plenty about marriage contracts and how binding they were.
"Well, if you say you need mine and Sirius' help that means you know what we can actually do to break this contract with the Parkinsons," Anya prompted.
"I do. To be fair there are multiple ways we can do this, I even considered going to Lucius for his help so I wouldn't trouble you. But this is the easiest and I realised that would make me a hypocrite as I just chastised Andy for being foolish and not asking you for help," Narcissa admitted.
"Good," Anya said decisively, "So what do we need to do?"
"Well, I think it would be best if we had everyone together so I only have to explain it once. We should also ask Reggie to help us. If we can't get through to Sirius, he probably can," Narcissa replied. Nodding, Anya followed her out in search of the Black brothers and their help.
"So, if we do this, then Andy wouldn't be bound to that idiot anymore?" Sirius asked. It had taken all of Regulus' powers of persuasion to convince his older brother to listen to them but well, in all honesty Sirius could never deny his baby brother anything and Andy was his favourite cousin, especially after her latest stunt.
"Yes," Narcissa said seriously.
"And you promise to let Andy do as she wishes?" Sirius turned to Anya. He looked at her sceptically, trying to gauge her true intentions.
"They're my cousins as much as they are yours and I wish to protect them as well," Anya replied, annoyed and arms crossed. Her family jewels shone brighter than ever.
"Very well, Andy, we will get you out of this mess," Sirius said to his older cousin. The woman smiled wanly at them. In truth, she felt foolish needing the help of two children to save her from her own actions. No wonder they said love made you blind.
"Cissy, what about you?" Anya said, her demeanour serious, "You can also be free and as I promised, you will be welcomed into the family…"
"No," Narcissa interrupted, shaking her head empathically, "If anything I'm more determined now. I will marry Lucius. The man may be a fool but he's a fool I can control and with him comes power and connections we do not have. By marrying him, I can offer you the support of the Malfoy family and hopefully protect Andy from our parents and Bella."
Anya opened her mouth, wishing to protest but the clear determination in Narcissa's eyes stopped her. Her cousin had at least listened to her and asked for their help, if only for Andromeda's sake. She knew that just like her, Cissy wanted to do her part, fulfil her duty, and protect those she loved.
"Very well," Anya replied, lips thinned. She didn't have to like the idea, after all.
Narcissa nodded seriously, the understanding clear between them. They would both do anything to protect their families but they were no longer alone in this.
"Ok, so to do the transfer of families, we need you Sirius to willingly give up Andy's position as a member of the Black family and Anya, you need to assert that you will take the responsibility of Andy as a new member of the Prince and Briar families…" Narcissa began, explaining the ceremony to transfer family membership. A simpler way, really, to dissolve any binding magical contracts as Andromeda would no longer be a Black and no longer bond to any contracts made when she was one. With the help of one of the Black magical law and runes books, Narcissa guided Anya and Sirius through the complicated process, having Severus - who'd they'd dragged along with Regulus- and Regulus to stand witness for their families. Once the whole ceremony ended, Cissy finally let out a sigh of relief. The whole matter was done with and her parents would be none the wiser until it was too late.
"What?! What do you mean that that idiotic girl is no longer a Black?!" Druella screeched at her husband.
"I believe that in his senility, my Father thought it was best to kick her out of the family. He may not be the Head of Black anymore, but while he lives, he has every right to do so," Cyrus sighed, annoyed.
"Well, what are we supposed to do now?! We can't force her to marry Plutarch Parkinson because now the contract is void!" the Black matron raged.
"Now, our only hope is to ensure that Narcissa marries Lucius Malfoy. I recommend, wife, that you make sure not to fail this time. You already failed in giving me male heirs and you have clearly failed in raising our daughters. This is your last chance," he hissed, anger filling his command.
Druella jumped back. She knew she had failed to do as was asked of her but really, if the Blacks weren't as old-fashioned as they were, Bellatrix could have been the heiress.
"And you better invite Lord Prince, Lord Briar, and Heiress Briar-Prince to a family dinner soon. With any luck, if you grovel enough we may not lose those connections too," Cyrus added with finality, slamming his study door behind him and in Druella's face.
Shocked, Druella fell upon the bench seat on the hallway in front of said study. It had been at least a decade since Cyrus had behaved so cruelly towards her. Oh, if she could only find Andromeda and wring that foolish girl's neck. But no, now she had to plan for a contingency.
"Kreacher!" she yelled out.
"Yes, Mistress Black?" the scrawny elf said as he appeared in front of her.
"Bring Narcissa to me immediately!" she screeched.
"Right away, Madame," he replied and popped away immediately.
"You will marry Lucius Malfoy the moment you graduate," Druella hissed at her youngest daughter. Grabbing her wrist tightly, as if to keep her in place.
"I was hoping for a July wedding," Narcissa replied, the cool and collected Ice Princess mask that everyone at Hogwarts and in wizarding society saw back in place.
"What?" Druella stumbled for a bit, taken aback. She hadn't expected the matter to be so easy even with Bellatrix, it had taken a couple a years before she conceded to marry.
"I was hoping for a mid-July wedding," Narcissa shrugged casually, "I will be eighteen by then and that will allow at least a couple of weeks to plan the last details without worrying about school. Plus, I've always wanted a summer wedding. Now, if that is all mother, I must return to Hogwarts as I have a Potions exam tomorrow. Please start making the needed preparations but do send an owl before making any final decisions."
Saying this, Narcissa stepped out of the sitting room and towards the Floo in the foyer. Once she made it safely back to her dorm room, she felt her legs cave under her, making her fall to the floor by the side of her bed. With her head against the bedspread, she clung to her bed and tried to take deep breaths.
After a few moments, she managed to calm down enough to recollect herself and with greater determination than ever before, she grabbed the Magical Misdemeanours and the Modern Law book she had sneaked out of the Black library and made her way out of her Head Girl dorm, hoping to avoid Demetrius Desmond. Seven years of being his classmate and being Prefects and now Head Boy and Girl together gave her enough exposure to the arrogant prat to last her a lifetime and she was in no mood to deal with him at the moment. But if worse came to worse, she would just go work in the Slytherin common room. Nothing could stop her now, not when she had a plan and people to protect.