2Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter One
"Narcissa, would you please hold still!" Mother never had been very gentle. Or patient. Narcissa was much too young for a corset; she didn't need one, but Mother had never been very practical either. "And stand up straight!"
"Yes mother, sorry mother" Narcissa said, immediately straightening her back so that she didn't upset her mother further. Pleasing her was like trying to make Andromeda see what inferior creatures muggles were; an impossible task. Her mother finished tying the corset and yanked Narcissa's dress down over her shoulders. It was black with red embellishments and much too old for the girl, but her mother believed in making her daughters look beautiful and desirable from a young age.
"All the better for them, Cygnus" Narcissa would hear her say to Father late at night, when she and her sisters should be sleeping, "It will make finding husbands an easier task. Not that Narcissa will need help; she's the beauty of them all."
Looking in the mirror, Cissy couldn't see it. She was pale, sallow, sickly looking in her opinion and her hair was ruler straight, unlike the beautiful curls which cascaded down her sisters backs. Bellatrix's were unruly, wild looking whilst Andromeda's were soft, brown ringlets and matched her brown eyes to perfection. Regarding herself once more, she sighed and her mother looked at her sharply.
"What are you sighing about, girl? Ladies do not sigh. We appear wistful and charming, always. We never sigh, we never cry and we never talk back. Understand?"
"But, mother," Narcissa said, turning around and fiddling with the hem of her dress. "You argue against father all of the time-"
Druella's hand shot out of nowhere and left Narcissa's face red and burning. She fought back tears. We do not cry.
"What did I say not five seconds ago? We do not talk back!" The fury behind her mother's words was something Narcissa had come to accept and fear over the years. In their household, her father was the kinder heart, her mother cruel and obsessive. There had only been one ambition on her mind for the past fourteen years; to get her daughters married. She would not accept anything lower than the purest of blood, the richest of fortunes and the best of appearances. Her daughters suitors had to be well bred, well spoken and appealing to the eye, as well as respectful but dominating. Druella Black would not have her daughters becoming know-it-all overly confident wenches.
"I'm s-sorry, mother" Narcissa said, addressing her mother's pointed, black shoes and praying that her tears did not escape her eyes and fall onto them; this would only serve to gain her more beatings and harsh words. She bent down quickly to don and tie her shoes, hoping to avoid her mother's wrath. Luckily, it was then that her sister intervened by knocking on the door.
"Yes?" Druella hissed, shooting a glance towards the door. Andromeda crept, meekly into the room.
"Papa says we are to depart shortly, Mother" She said, an air of careful grace surrounding her as it always did in their mothers presence. Andromeda was Druella's least favourite daughter, due to the tolerance she held for muggle borns and muggles alike.
Druella turned back to her youngest child without so much as acknowledging Andromeda's statement and tugged her puffy sleeves into place. Narcissa moved towards the door once she had and Druella hollered.
"Gerda!"
As her mother was behind her, Narcissa felt no shame in scrunching up her nose at the sound of their House Elf being called. What a horrendous name! Gerda!Ugh. She rushed down the stairs, running the last few, knowing her mother would have something to say about it but not caring. Her black, patent leather shoes pinched slightly but Narcissa knew better than to complain. Beside the door stood Andromeda, prim and proper in her black and blue dress and, close by, leaning on the door was Bellatrix. Narcissa's eyes widened at her sisters attire, but she knew better than to comment. Bella's patience stretched farther for Narcissa than anyone, but even Cissy knew better than to reprimand Bella for her wardrobe.
She wore a black dress, like her sisters. Andy and Cissy's dresses reached down to just below their knee's, long enough to still appear demure whilst inviting make attention. Bella wasn't just inviting their attention, she was screaming for it. Cissy assumed she'd used magic to make the alterations, because they were much too perfect for Bella to have accomplished them by hand. The hem line had gone up by at least five inches, her black tights had been ripped in a straight line down the front and she hadn't even bothered to alter her shoes, she'd simply changed her black dolly shoes for a pair of black high heels. Her black hair was, as usual, unruly around her face and her eyes were hooded, giving her a mysterious, dangerous look. When Bella saw Cissy looking at her, she grinned at her sister and winked. Cissy shook her head slightly, knowing that even Bella couldn't escape their mother's ferocity and, sure enough...
"Bellatrix Prosperina Black!"
Cissy cringed and backed into Andy's arms, shrinking away from her mother as she thundered down the stairs.
Druella Black was not a large woman. In fact, she was incredibly slim and tall, a characteristic which her daughters would one day claim as their own. She was, however, an incredibly large presence and this helped her to intimidate her daughters even more. Well, it helped her to intimidate her younger daughters. Needless to say, Bellatrix wasn't the least bit affected by her mother's rage. She was almost the same height as her; she needed only grow an inch or two more, and this helped her to stand up to her. Narcissa always admired her when she did so, but she was also ashamed of the disrespect Bella so carelessly showed their parents.
"Mother?" Bella said, seeming quite bored. Her aloofness never failed to mesmerize Cissy and the eleven year old watched in horror as Druella approached her daughter. There was a moment of silence during which Bella and Druella met eyes and stared at each other. Narcissa could hear Andromeda breathing heavily behind her, as though distressed and the arms around her tightened ever so slightly.
"Well, my four beautiful ladies, are we prepared to depart?"
Cygnus Blacks loud, booming voice came from the landing and Andromeda and Cissy breathed mutual sighs of relief as his boots thundered down the stairs.
"Indeed." Druella said, giving Bella one last glare before she stepped to her husbands side and placed a hand on his arm. Andromeda and Bella did the same and Cissy was half way to taking her fathers arm when she remembered something and scrambled backwards.
"Narcissa...?"
"Mistress Cissy!" Narcissa shrieked, racing up the stairs, not caring for her dress as she did so, and into her room. The doll sat on her dresser, ever so pretty as usual. She had golden locks, similar to Narcissa herself. The only difference was that Mistress Cissy's hair curled the way Narcissa had always wished hers would, but how it never did. The doll had large, brown eyes like Andy and a slightly manic smile, like Bella. Her dress was white with red trimmings, her skin pale. She was the ragdoll Cygnus had given her for her second birthday and, nine years later, Mistress Cissy was the only one of the girls toys which remained, having survived Druella's many clear outs (Well, Gerda did the clearing out under Druella's strict instructions) due to Narcissa's hysterical screaming fits. It was the only time she ever misbehaved, so Druella had caved. Many times. Narcissa hugged the doll to her chest her moment of panic gone. She had feared that, if the doll were left behind, it, like so many of her other toys, would simply disappear.
Mistress Cissy's name was the origin of Narcissa's affectionate nickname, Cissy. It had originally been Bella's pet name for her, but Andy, much to Bella's discontent, had rapidly picked up on it, and Cygnus had followed and so on, until every family member or family friend they encountered called her either Cousin Cissy, Miss Cissy or just plain Cissy. Her mother was the only one who refused to pick up ion the name, which she referred to as "common and uncouth".
The doll held one fond memory for Narcissa, the earliest she could remember but one any Witch was unlikely to ever forget. Bella had been unkind to Narcissa frequently when they were younger, before Narcissa became someone Bella could model after herself, when Andromeda proved to be a disappointment. One day, Cissy had done something particularly unkind to Bella- she would never remember what it was- and Bella raced to the nursery and grabbed the doll. Cissy came running in behind her to find Bella holding a pair of nasty, rusty tongs over the fire and Mistress Cissy locked in their jaws.
"NO!" She had shouted, raising her hand as if to grab the doll. A still smirking Bella flew backwards into the wall and Cissy flew into Narcissa's arms. From that day forth, Bella had always called her Cissy. And she frequently thought twice about antagonizing her youngest sibling.
Narcissa raced back down the stairs, avoided her mothers glare and grabbed her fathers hand. The sensation was uncomfortable, but it was one she had known since babyhood and, after apparating, she found herself on Platform 9 and 3/4.
So, here I am. I'm new to Potter fiction and I thought I'd try my hand at writing some Lucissa as I've found a new love for the shipping. She's so cold to most people, yet it's clear that, if anyone means anything to her, it's Draco and Lucius. I'm really looking forward to getting into this Fic and plan to go from Pre-Hogwarts (This chapter) to Post-Battle of Hogwarts.
That is, praying I don't get Writers block halfway through and die D:
Unfortunately, I suffer an awful lot from Writers block but, hey, we live with what life serves us and I'm currently very excited for this story so fingers crossed my muse decides to stick with me for the duration of it.
If you've taken the time out to read my drabble, I appreciate it and I hope you'll follow the story!
Everything I write is for you, my beautiful readers.
Stephanie Eleanor xxx