Deceptions

Deceptions

My life was full of deceptions. People would look at me and think 'It's the blonde Black'. I was the pretty one, the stupid one, the obedient one. My sister Bellatrix was always the ambitious one, destined to be evil, the equal of her husband. And Andromeda... Andromeda was the clever one. The Ravenclaw. My parents never forgave her for that. Despite our different houses, we were the Black Sisters. Our loyalty was only to our family, our power shared between us. We each had a role to play: Bellatrix, the zealous Ringleader, the most powerful one of us; Andromeda, the studious Bookworm, our spy in Ravenclaw; and me. Pretty Narcissa. I was the Deceptive one. The one who seduced men into betraying their beliefs. We worked for the Purebloods, for the Dark Side. Then one day it changed.

At our weekly Black meeting one day, Andromeda told us some shocking news. Blushing, she admitted to falling in love with Ted Tonks. A mudblood. What's more was that she expected us to be happy for her. Bella flew into a rage and sent her out with words of abuse, telling her that Mother and Father would hear of this news. Andromeda screamed back, telling her she never intended to go back to the miserable existence she had with us.

As she was about to leave, she turned back around, looked at me pleadingly, and asked in a meek voice, 'Narcissa, what do you think?'

Bella turned around and looked at me too, with those unnatural black eyes. They were both watching, waiting; waiting for me to react. I slowly lifted my head, and looked Andromeda in the eye. In my peripheral vision I saw Bella falter, thinking I was going to abandon her; and I saw happiness come in the eyes of Andromeda, thinking I supported her.

'Oh Cissa, I'm so happy,' she babbled. 'You'll love him!'

She stepped forward to hug me, but I moved back. Her smile faded and Bella looked apprehensive.

'Andromeda. Be gone, Mudblood Lover.' I spoke the words without inflection, my face expressionless, but inwards I laughed at the tragic look on her face.

I saw a triumphant look cross Bella's face before saying, 'You heard her. Leave.'

Without a word, Andromeda turned and fled.

I faced Bella without trepidation and stared at her, as she was at me.

'Narcissa,' she said, holding my face firmly with one hand, studying my face with her strange eyes. Finally she smiled. 'Narcissa, I'd like you to meet my friends.'

So I met her friends, and ended up marrying one of them, Lucius Malfoy. We carried on as if nothing had happened, each missing Andromeda in our own way. Bella became a Death Eater; I became the wife of one, and the mother of one. I was always the second-best after that. Everyone wanted to be like her, my husband wanted to be with her. As for Andromeda, she married her Ted, and last I heard of her, she had a daughter. May they rot in hell!

One night, when Lucius forced himself on me, he cried out her name in his peak. I was angry, hurt and disgusted. My sister had always been a whore. I needed something to hurt him with, to punish him for not loving me. I told him the thing that I had been sworn to secrecy about, and triumphed when his face fell.

Bellatrix and Andromeda Black had been lovers.

Lucius couldn't keep it to himself, so he told Crabbe, who told Goyle, who told Flint, who told Lestrange, my sister's husband. When he confronted her, she responded in a truly Bellatrix Black rage. Unfortunately, the rage fell on me.

When she stormed at me for betraying her confidence, I responded with wide-eyed innocence. As if I, her own sister, would betray her!

The stupid fool believed me. She forgot my role.