𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 | | 𝕝𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕦𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕝𝕗𝕠𝕪

𝐃𝐨𝐢𝐧' 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞

A/N: this chapter is dedicated to all my fellow narcissa simps and those who have been rooting for soft cottagecore narcissa x katherine <3

Me and my girl, we got this relationship
I love her so bad, but she treats me like shit
On lockdown, like a penitentiary
She spreads her lovin' all over

Narcissa removed a large golden key from her dress pocket, slowly inserting it into the matching keyhole before turning the knob to let her and Katherine into the isolated cottage.
They had decided, after Katherine's return from her Azkaban visit, that it would be wise to listen to Lucius and distance themselves from the chaos of the Manor and of the war, at least until Draco returned from his year at Hogwarts. Narcissa, confident that her son would be safe underneath Snape's watchful eye, was comfortable enough to agree to stay at her family's old vacation home on the shores of France as long as the professor promised to write with any updates.

Katherine stepped into the foyer with Achilles trampling behind her, setting down her suitcase on the hardwood floor. It was a small yet elegant cottage, with overgrown ivy on the outside brick walls and speckles of dust in the interior from years of uninhabitance. Narcissa clapped her hands together, letting the door shut behind her.
"Well, it definitely needs a bit of love and cleaning. Katherine, dear, can you find a rag and maybe some other cleaning supplies so we can at least get the dust off of the surfaces?" She asked.

Katherine nodded and stepped into the kitchen, opening up a random cabinet and grabbing a dust rag and some (probably expired) cleaner. She squealed as a mouse ran by her, Achilles immediately growling and chasing the rodent around the room.
"We should have gotten a cat." Narcissa mumbled as Katherine handed her a dust rag. She waved her wand, setting the material flying around the room cleaning every dirty surface. The house was looking better already.

It took the entirety of their first day at the cottage, but the two women had made the space a perfect home. They had changed the moth-eaten curtains to billowing sheer ones, the bedding was changed to a bright sage green, and the windows were left ajar to let in the salty air. And on the top of the fireplace, right in the center of the living room, was a framed photo of Lucius Malfoy. It was a getaway, a distraction from the events going on the world. After a trip to town to buy some groceries, Katherine was in the vintage kitchen, stirring a bowl of frosting for a batch of cupcakes that was in the oven. Narcissa walked up behind her, wrapping her arms around Katherine's waist playfully.

"You are stirring it too slow, dear." She mumbled, placing her hand on top of Katherine's. "You have to go quick or else it won't mix properly." Narcissa kept one hand on Katherine's waist, her other guiding the spoon to mix the frosting for her.
"Thanks, Cissa. I didn't know that I had moved in with an expert baker." Katherine smiled softly to herself, letting Narcissa finish the frosting just as the oven dinged to signal the baked cupcakes.

Katherine walked over to the oven, grabbing a towel before opening it and pulling out the cupcakes, the smell of strawberries and vanilla filling the room. She set them down on the countertop, Narcissa walking over with the bowl of frosting and a spatula.
"Did you bake a lot as a child?" She asked quietly, grabbing one of the cupcakes to begin frosting it delicately.
"Yeah, I did. My aunt and I made breads and cakes and cookies all the time. She didn't have a lot of money, you know. Me and Elowen came from wealth on my father's side, but my aunt was my mother's sister and the Winslows were like the Weasleys." Katherine responded, grabbing a spoon off of the counter to dip it into the frosting bowl. "What about you, Cissa. What was your family like?"

Narcissa paused for a second, an almost pained look crossing her face. "It was like any traditional Pureblood witch's childhood, I went to Hogwarts and came home for the holidays. I had two sisters, you know Bellatrix, and Andromeda-well she unfortunately is not a part of the family anymore. She married a mudblood named Ted Tonks, and they had a daughter Nymphadora. Well, mother hated that so she burned poor Dromeda off of the family tree. Bella and I got lucky, we married pure." she responded sadly, setting a newly-frosted cupcake down on a plate.