loyalties lie
The fallout from Lucius and Cissa’s dalliance is worse than Blair imagined.
After she locks the two of them in the balcony, she returns to the ballroom, nursing her rage. Regulus immediately senses her mood and approaches her. “What’s wrong, Blair?”
Blair shakes her head, angry tears threatening to escape the corners of her eyes. Reg just nods and pulls her to his side.
Lucius and Cissa eventually emerge, demanding to talk to Abraxas, Orion, and Cygnus. It takes them at least an hour and a half to escape, to Blair’s grim satisfaction. They both avoid Blair’s stony gaze. Thank Merlin and Morgana that at that point, the party had already been drawing to a close.
The evening ends with a betrothal contract between Lucius and Cissa. Lucius is passionate in his defense of his genuine feelings for Narcissa and he is aided by the fact that Abraxas and Orion have not actually brokered a contract for Blair’s hand. Blair catches the simultaneous looks of relief of Cissa and Lucius.
When the family is alone, Walburga is livid. “You’ve allowed yourself to be bested by Narcissa again!” She strikes Blair’s cheek. “It is of no matter that our family is more prominent, not to mention richer, because you are completely unsatisfactory, Blair Cassiopeia.”
Sirius rushes to Blair’s defense, shielding her from further blows. “Enough, Mother! Can’t you see that she’s already upset?” He gestures to Blair as tears fall silently down her face. She won’t give her mother the pleasure of hearing her cry.
Walburga looks at them coldly. “I suppose I have two inadequate children then.”
She turns to leave the room. “Come with me, Regulus.”
Regulus refuses.
For the rest of the Yule break, Walburga studiously ignores her children and Orion subtly keeps out of the conflict.
Sirius and Regulus refuse to leave Blair alone. Sirius cancels his plans to visit the Potter household and Regulus limits his Quidditch practice. One or the other always finds excuses to enter her suite of rooms. Sometimes, Sirius even successfully turns into a large black grim, snuggling up beside Blair as she sprawls herself on her bed, staring emptily at the canopy.
She doesn’t even think of Lucius and Cissa that much; it is the harsh words of Walburga that echo inside her head.
-
Blair welcomes the return to Hogwarts, all things considered.
She steadily ignores Narcissa and Lucius, so a division in the Slytherin House occurs.
The girls in her year side with Blair. She doesn’t attribute this to any sense of loyalty to her person; she doesn’t make friends easily, after all. She knows, however, that she is more influential, ergo, more useful. The Slytherin boys have already cottoned on to the fact that the gorgeous Cissa Black is spoken for, and that Lucius Malfoy no longer hangs around Blair Black, so they flock to her. Charles Zabini, especially, walks around the school with an unabashed look of glee. He is seen at the library for the first time ever.
Blair isn’t sure who Cissa spends her time with these days. She supposes Cissa is with Lucius’s friends: Antonin Dolohov, Evan Mulciber, and the half-blood Severus Snape.
Blair should wish her well, but she would be lying.