The Eagle and The Snake: A Tragic Love Story

78. The First Step

After making love to each other, the girls were desperate to go out into the new world, hand in hand, so they could experience a world without the law that had kept them apart for so long.
They wanted to go into Diagon Alley that very day, and make their relationship obvious to any passers-by.
But Narcissa put a stop to this idea pretty quickly, when she got wind of what Carly and Luna planned to do.
Her motherly protective instincts overwhelmed her, and she refused to let the girls leave the house.
She instructed them to wait a week, to ensure that everyone had heard the new Minister's message.
Not wanting to make her current guardian angry or worried, Carly agreed to wait a week.

When the week was up, Carly pleaded with Narcissa to let her and Luna go into town alone together.
Narcissa compromised, and decided to take them, along with Draco, to get their new school supplies.
Both Luna and Carly would be starting their NEWT level subjects in September, so they needed a whole new set of textbooks and Potion ingredients.
They had also outgrown their robes, so Narcissa offered to buy them some new ones.
Draco was looking forward to being able to leave the house with them, as he spent most of his time at Voldemort's side, doing his bidding, which no one, including him, was particularly happy about.

"Alright, we're here now. You can leave us alone" insisted Carly, once they all reached Diagon Alley.
The once thriving town, looked almost impoverished, as so many shops had been boarded up.
You used to hardly be able to move down the streets, because of the amount of people.
But now, you barely saw any people at all.

"You've got one hour to get what you need, and then I want you to meet me back here" instructed Narcissa.
"O.K" replied Carly.
"Oh, and don't forget that you are not allowed to use magic, as you are not 17 yet" Narcissa said sternly.
"But the dark lord said he has someone working alongside Mafalda Hopkirk, in the Improper Use of Magic office, who can just erase all the times we use magic outside of school, so that we won't get into trouble".

"Pius Thicknesse has only been in power for one week. And it would be unwise to test the boundaries of any of his new policies just yet. Especially since we don't have full control over every department in the Ministry at the moment. You don't want to start causing a scene, so early into the new regime. And while it's true that you probably won't be punished for breaking the law, I still don't want you making a spectacle of yourself" informed Narcissa.

Carly opened her mouth to speak, but Narcissa cut her off, as she had not finished yet.
"The Decree for the Restriction of Underage Sorcery is still in play, which is why I would like you to avoid breaking the law, while in public. You can do what you like at home, when protected by powerful magic, but out here, there are rules that we all must follow. The general population still don't know about where your loyalty lies, and it is in your best interests not to let them find out. You already plan to make your sexuality known to the world, so I would advise you not to reveal your death eater status as well" continued Narcissa.

"But everyone will see me hanging out with you, so they will suspect what I am, because of Lucius" pointed out Carly.
"That can't be helped, since you live with us. But I want you to do everything in your power, to not let people think you are evil, and working with the dark lord" replied Narcissa.
"So, you don't want us hexing everyone who gives us a dirty look, as we walk through town?" Questioned Carly.
"Absolutely not. I do not want you starting any fights today".

"But the law has changed. People aren't allowed to be mean to us anymore. So, if they slip up, we should be allowed to correct them" insisted Luna.
"The law may have changed, but changing people's mindsets is an entirely different matter, which takes time. The public's opinion of people like you won't have changed overnight" informed Narcissa.
Carly folded her arms, "I don't care. The law is on our side now, and we can do what we want. I won't hide in the shadows and keep my opinions to myself anymore. Luna and I have put up with people bullying us all our lives, and we won't take it anymore".

"I don't want you getting hurt, so please don't do anything stupid" begged Draco.
"No promises. But don't worry about us. We've been trained by the best, afterall" reminded Carly.
"That may be, but you are still children. And you are inexperienced at partaking in real fights. No matter how good your training is, you have not put your skills to use in the real world yet" said Narcissa.
"Then perhaps it is time we changed that, and gained some real life experiences. If any low-lifes try and mock us today, they will regret it" announced Carly, before marching off down the street, with Luna at her side.

"You didn't have to be so mean to the person who's home we are living in" Luna said quietly.
"Technically it's Lucius's home, not Narcissa's. And neither of them have any say in whether or not we live with them, as that is up to the dark lord" reminded Carly.
"Still, you didn't have to be so mean to her, when she was only looking out for our best interests and trying to protect us" replied Luna.
"From now on, only we can decide what is in our best interests. The guardians that raised us no longer have any part in our lives. Which means that we get to decide what is best for us, and not anyone else".

"Are you ready to do this then?" Asked Luna, as she looked down at Carly's hand.
"What do you think?" Grinned Carly, before taking hold of Luna's hand, and continuing down the street with her.
"I can't wait until we can do this back at school" smiled Luna.
"Me neither... I bet Narcissa would have a heartattack if we told her how bold we plan to be when we return to Hogwarts"
"Actually, she might be O.K with it. As us taking over the school, is a lot safer than us asserting our dominance out here in the real world".

"But school cannot be the only place where we are ourselves" insisted Carly.
"No, but let's do one thing at a time, my love. We should wait until we turn 17, and can legally perform magic outside of school, before we start to really rock the boat" replied Luna, as she came to a halt outside Flourish and Blotts.
"You're right, let's take this one step at a time" agreed Carly.
She then looked around at the people coming out of the shops around them, before turning back to face Luna, and planting a kiss on her lips.

"That was nice" blushed Luna.
"That was just the first kiss of many, that I plan to give you today" grinned Carly.
No one around them made any comment about the kiss the girls had just shared, because with everything going on in the world, everyone was too wrapped up in their own lives, to care about two young girls sharing a kiss.

"Come on, we've got to go and get our books. In hindsight, we should have gone to Flourish and Blotts last, because now we are going to have to carry our heavy books all over town. We've got a lot of places to get to today, and we can't  afford to procrastinate, as your Aunt Narcissa only gave us an hour" reminded Luna.
"Whatever you say, my Atlantis. I will follow your lead" beamed Carly, as she placed one arm around Luna's waist, and the two of them stepped into the bookshop, together.