Rating:
PG-13
House:
The Dark Arts
Ships:
Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Malfoy
Characters:
Bellatrix Lestrange Narcissa Malfoy
Genres:
Drama
Era:
The Harry Potter at Hogwarts Years
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Half-Blood Prince
Stats:
Published: 08/26/2006
Updated: 08/26/2006
Words: 2,768
Chapters: 1
Hits: 340

Dinner for Two

Gothicfae1989

Story Summary:
Prelude to chapter \'Spinner\'s End\' in HBP. Bellatrix calls to \'comfort\' and calm Narcissa, and has exactly the opposite effect.

Chapter 01

Posted:
08/26/2006
Hits:
340


~*Dinner For Two*~

Narcissa let herself slide down the wall until she was slumped against it; her head tilted back, eyes closed. The moonlight from the window at the end of the corridor streamed in, bathing her in a shaft of blue-white light that made her hair glow silver and her skin fade to a pearly grey. A single glittering tear trickled a wobbling line down her cheek and over her chin, splashing onto her expensive blue velvet robes.

The house was silent around her, so silent that even the gentle rustle of her robes as she shifted her position sounded loud in comparison. The robes had been a gift from Lucius just weeks ago when he had returned a day late from some unspecified business. Now he was locked in a cell in Azkaban, leaving her and Draco alone to fend for themselves.

The countless raids of the Manor by the Ministry were a mere annoyance, but it felt like rubbing salt into a wound. Of course, they found very little, since Lucius had always been very good at hiding things, but every tiny grain of 'evidence' that mounted up against him made the outlook steadily worse. Lucius was going to spend the rest of his life in that cell unless the Dark Lord got around to finally winning the war, and Narcissa wished he would hurry up and let her have her husband back.

The silence was broken abruptly by a loud 'crack' at the end of the passageway. Narcissa leaped to her feet, smoothing her robes and steadying her racing pulse as the house-elf scurried towards her.

"Mistress, you have a visitor," it squeaked, bowing low to the ground in front of her, "Mistress Lestrange is waiting at the gates, and she is afraid she will be getting caught-"

"Bellatrix?" Narcissa snapped, cutting the elf off, "What does she want at this time of night?"

"She says she is just wanting to speak to you, Mistress..."

"A likely story," she muttered under her breath, waving a dismissal to the elf and marching down the corridor. "Bella never just wanted to talk to anyone, there was always something in it for her." She knew she could easily have apparated to the gates, but if Bellatrix insisted on intruding upon her privacy, then she would make it as difficult and unpleasant as possible.

"You took your time," Bellatrix drawled to Narcissa as she appeared at the gates five minutes later, waving her wand to unlock them. They clanged back on their heavy wrought-iron hinges, allowing Bella to slip through them, quick and lithe as a shadow, and onto the sweeping driveway. "Good evening, little sister."

"It's ten o'clock at night, Bella," Narcissa snapped, watching as the gates locked themselves behind her before turning on her heel and marching off up the driveway. "But then, you've never exactly been one for calling at appropriate times, have you?"

"Dear, dear Cissy," Bella purred smoothly, keeping pace with her little sister, "there's really no need to take your anger out on me. I came to offer my support, but if you're so set against it..."

"I am already inconvenienced, you may as well do what it was you came to do."

They walked up the driveway in silence, through the front doors and the elabourate entrance hall, off down a passage to the right, across a small sitting room and through a huge set of ornately engraved double-doors into a large kitchen. The house-elf, who had been scrubbing the work surfaces, made herself scarce as Narcissa swept into the room, gesturing to Bellatrix to seat herself at the mahogany table.

"Can I get you glass of wine?" Narcissa asked, not bothering to wait for a reply as she flicked her wand, causing a bottle of red wine and two crystal glasses to fly from their cupboards and land on the dresser beside her.

"What kind is it?" Bellatrix reclined back on the chair, tipping it so that it rested on two legs. Narcissa always told Draco off for doing that, and had to fight the impulse to berate her sister.

"I'm not sure what it's called, but Lucius and I were given a crate of it from his friend Robert Dupont when we stayed with him last summer."

"Charming." The evil smile was audible on Bellatrix's voice as Narcissa handed her the glass and sat down opposite her, gulping half of her glass in one go. "Steady, Cissy, if you keep going at that rate I won't be able to get a coherent word out of you."

"Good," she hissed, draining the rest of the wine and setting her glass down roughly onto the table. "Who sent you here?"

"Sent me?" Bellatrix's eyebrows shot upwards, but the smile playing around her lips showed the truth of her ruse. "I can't imagine what you're insinuating."

"Of course you can't." Narcissa summoned the wine bottle over to the table and poured herself another glass, glaring steadily at her sister all the while. "Has he sent to make sure I don't do anything...rash?"

Bellatrix tossed her hair over her shoulder. "What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, so don't play innocent with me." Narcissa took a large gulp of wine to try to steady herself. "You never have been and never will be innocent, Bella."

"Well, it's fortunate for me that I'm incredibly good at being guilty." Bellatrix's eyes glittered and her red-painted lips curved up into a smile once more. "You were always the innocent one, darling. You were so good at it."

If only you knew, she thought venomously, making sure that she kept her mind guarded. Sister or not, Bellatrix would feel no guilt in probing her mind for answers to questions she couldn't verbally manipulate her to answer.

"If you say so," she shrugged finally, taking another swig of wine. "But I know that's why you're here."

A long moment of silence passed, in which Narcissa finished her second glass of wine and Bellatrix continued to rock back on the chair, studying her sister critically.

"Are you planning on doing anything rash?" Bellatrix asked at length, snatching the wine bottle away as Narcissa made to pour herself yet another glass. "I think you've had quite enough of that for tonight."

"How lovely of you to take an interest in my health," Narcissa hissed, seething at Bella's nerve. This was her house, and she could drink as much wine within these walls as she wished.

"You're quite welcome, sister dearest, but you avoided answering my question."

"As if I would tell you, even if I was." Tired of sitting at the table, Narcissa pushed her chair back, making the legs screech across the stone floor. She marched over to the window and drew the heavy velvet curtains shut, more to give herself something to do than anything.

"Then why, pray, is your traveling cloak hanging ready over the banister in the hall?"

Narcissa froze momentarily. She could hardly believe she had been as careless as to leave it there, but she had been in such a towering temper when Bellatrix had arrived that she hadn't thought to hide from her sister's hawk-like eyes.

"And what of it? I paid a visit to Diagon Alley this morning, and forgot to put it away." She knew that Bella was as likely to swallow that lie as if she had tried to tell her she'd been visiting a Muggle orphanage to hand out old clothes, but it was better than telling her the truth. She would never be able to understand.

"You did no such thing," Bellatrix sipped at her wine lazily, blinking slowly like a cat. "You haven't left the house for three days."

"So you're spying on me now?" She couldn't quite believe that her own sister would spy on her, however persuasive her master might be.

Bellatrix shrugged, finishing her wine and setting the glass down carefully. "We had to be sure that you weren't going to, as you put it so neatly, do anything rash."

"And who might 'we' be, or do I need to ask?"

"'We' are the Death Eaters Narcissa, and you would do well to remember that Lucius would have wanted you to do as you're told-"

"You know nothing of what Lucius wanted for me, so don't speak of what you don't understand," Narcissa cut in acidly, her fury threatening to boil over at the injustice of it all. Lucius was imprisoned and Draco, her beautiful son Draco, had been drafted in to fill his father's shoes, or that was the pretence that the Dark Lord was putting up. Narcissa knew perfectly well that he only wanted Draco dead to test Lucius's loyalty and to make him suffer for the mistakes he had made.

"You want to keep that tongue of yours in check, little sister," Bellatrix's voice was silky and dangerous, and Narcissa could tell that she was very close to pushing her over the edge, "or you may have to find out just why nobody else gets away with speaking to me like that."

"I'll make a note of it," Narcissa whirled around, snatching the glasses from the table and putting them beside the sink.

"Cissy, I understand that you're feeling upset..." Bellatrix began, trying to keep the annoyance in her voice to a minimum, but Narcissa didn't let her finish.

"Oh, don't pretend that you're sorry for me Bella, I know that you're reveling in this. Your perfect little sister brought down to where she belongs. It's what you wanted, is it not?"

"Self-pity does not become you," Bellatrix spat, finally losing her patience. "You should grow up and learn that your life was never in your own hands. You will do as you are told, or you will die."

"Is that a threat? Will you murder your own sister, Bella, just to be his favourite?" Narcissa grabbed one of the glasses and threw it, watching as it smashed against the cupboard behind Bella's head, showering the work surface with a thousand shards, glittering in the golden candle-light.

"No." Bellatrix waved her wand the broken glass vanished. "It was a promise."

"He cares for no-one but himself. He only rewards when it suits him, when it brings you more into his debt. You must be more a fool than I ever thought if you believe what he says."

Bellatrix walked slowly and purposefully towards her, stopping only inches away. "That is the last time you insult him, in my presence or not. Your life was spared because I asked for it to be. He wanted both you and Draco dead, to make sure that Lucius was his and his alone, but I told him that you hold no sway over you husband. Now you will do as I ask, or I will revoke the favour."

Narcissa blanched, and turned sharply, striding the length of the kitchen in order to put as much space between herself and Bellatrix as possible. So he did want Draco to die, but he had originally intended for her to die as well...

"Why Draco? Why not me?" Narcissa moaned, falling to her knees and cupping her face with her hands, rocking back and forth, "Why my son, Bella, why my son?"

Bellatrix looked shocked, but didn't reply. She made a few truncated motions with her hand, before sitting back down at the table, taking the wine and remaining glass with her.

After a long period of near-silence, in which Bellatrix pretended not to hear her sister's unseemly sobbing, she stood up and clicked her fingers. The house-elf appeared almost instantly, and Narcissa, shocked out of her crying by the crack as the elf apparated, stood and began to wipe the tears from her face.

"Have you had dinner tonight, Narcissa?" Bellatrix asked, still refusing to look at her sister while she was so overtly displaying such emotion.

"I..." Narcissa paused for a moment, trying to remember the last time she had eaten at all. It might have been the morning, or the previous night, but food had been the least of her worries these past few days. "No, I don't believe I have."

"Well, your elf should make us a meal which will hopefully calm your emotions and help you to think clearly and act responsibly." Bellatrix said it with such authority that Narcissa even forgot to feel angry with her. She nodded blindly and settled herself back into the seat opposite her sister, gazing blankly into space.

Half an hour later, and a delicious venison steak was steaming on their plates alongside sautéed vegetables, shallots and roasted potato cubes.

"Now, Cissy, why was your traveling cloak lying out?" Bellatrix asked in a pleasant tone of voice, taking a mouthful of food just as Narcissa almost choked on her own. Glaring at her sister, Narcissa kept quiet for a few more moments, before finally giving up on her pretence and laying down her cutlery.

"I was going to see Snape," she replied, holding her head a little higher in order to overlook the distasteful grimace gracing Bellatrix's Azkaban-ravaged features.

"Snape? What could you possibly wish to see him about?"

Narcissa took a few deep breaths, apparently trying to arrange her thoughts in coherent fashion before she finally spoke. "He is the Dark Lord's most trusted advisor, he must know about the plan-"

"You must not tell him about it, Narcissa! You heard the Dark Lord's warnings, you know-"

"My son is being used as a pawn in his schemes for revenge, Bella, and I will not stand by and let my son die!" Narcissa's voice was hysterical again, and the tears were hovering in the corners of her eyes, ready to spill forth at any moment.

"He accepted the task with honour and pride, and you will be making his death certain if you go interfering." Bellatrix surveyed her sister for a few more moments, before adding, "If you do this, you will be putting more than your own life in danger. Your son will be killed, Lucius will be marked for death if he ever escapes Azakaban, the Malfoy name will be tarnished-"

"I don't care about the bloody Malfoy name!" Narcissa wailed, pushing her plate forcefully away from her and turning slightly in her chair so that she was not facing her sister directly. "I care about my son, and about keeping him alive, whatever the cost!"

"You are speaking nonesense, Narcissa, calm down." Bellatrix looked truly wary for the first time since she had arrived. "Rash actions are not called for in a time like this, you know that this is madness! You will most certainly get yourself and Draco killed if you run to Snape. He is not to be trusted, he will tell the Dark Lord and then reap the rewards of turning in such a traitor-"

"I am not one of his Death Eaters, I did not swear allegiance to him-"

"But Lucius did, and you are his wife. You are weak and selfish, Narcissa, and a fool. You would only do this for yourself, so that you are not left alone. Think about the sacrifices Lucius made, and think how they will all be for nothing of you let your emotions get the better of you." The words seemed to hit a sore spot, for Narcissa stood up so sharply that it sent her chair flying. "Narcissa, you must not let yourself give into this weakness..." Bella's words died in her throat as her sister ran from the room, leaving the double doors wide open.

Cursing under her breath, Bellatrix ran after Narcissa. She saw her sister's blonde hair flash around the corner, and ran into the entrance hall behind her, just in time to see her donning her traveling cloak.

"You must not do this," Bellatrix said, her voice taking on a note of pleading as she grabbed Narcissa by the shoulders.

"I will do whatever I must to save my son, and I will do this Bella, with or without your blessing." Narcissa did up the fastening at the neck of her cloak, and drew the hood up over her fair head.

"That blessing will never come."

"Then I shall do it without your blessing." Her voice was oddly calm now, and her eyes completely free of tears. "You cannot stop me, Bella." And with a loud pop, she disapparated, and Bellatrix was left grasping at thin air.

"You fool." Bellatrix let out a short scream of fury, before disapparating after her sister.