Voice of Love

9 | Last Day as a Sixth Year

The Great Hall was decked out with silver and green ribbons. A huge banner with the Slytherin crest was hanging from the middle of the ceiling, and the students of the other Houses looked grumpy. Narcissa felt a sense of pride wash over her as she witnessed the fifth win in a row; her housemates were ecstatic. 

"Quiet down, everybody," Dumbledore's voice rang.

Immediately the students stopped talking and looked up at the headmaster.

"Now that I have your attention, I am about to announce the House points."

"In fourth place we have Ravenclaw, with a total of 327 points. Third place goes to Gryffindor, with a total of 373 points. Second place goes to Hufflepuff, with 419 points," Dumbledore said.

There was a pause before Dumbledore continued talking, and three fourths of the students wore sour expressions.

"And finally, in first place is Slytherin, with a grand total of 498 points!" Dumbledore's voice was joined with the loud whoops, cheers, and stomps from the Slytherin table.

Dumbledore waited for the commotion to die down before he clapped his hands. A variety of food instantly appeared on the table, which was perfect timing because Narcissa could feel her stomach rumbling. She quickly piled up her plate with cantaloupe, roast turkey, pumpkin juice, and salad.

"Don't miss me too much, Cissy."

Narcissa jumped at Bellatrix's voice behind her. She saw Lucius behind her smirking.

"Don't worry, I won't," Narcissa replied.

"Are you being feisty to impress dear Lucy?" Bellatrix mocked in her annoying baby voice.

Narcissa merely rolled her eyes, seeing no point in arguing with Bellatrix with such delicious food in front of her. Unfortunately, Bellatrix took Narcissa's silence the wrong way.

"So I was correct! Why don't you give Lucius a kiss to show him how much you love him?" Bellatrix crowed.

A faint blush crept up Narcissa's cheeks at the idea. She caught Lucius' eye, and he merely stared back with a raised eyebrow. You would rarely get any emotion that you could make fun of out of Lucius.

"Bella, if you don't stop I will-"

"Hex me? You'll ruin your chances of becoming Head Girl and disappoint our dear parents," Bellatrix cut her off.

Narcissa sighed, and continued eating her food. It suddenly didn't seem as appealing as it did before, especially with Bellatrix's constant gloating in her ear. At least she wouldn't have to deal with Bellatrix next year. About 15 minutes later Bellatrix got bored of Narcissa ignoring her, and decided to just leave her be. A few minutes after that, the feast wrapped up and everyone went to pack up their things to head home for the summer.

Narcissa fit all of her belongings into a small suitcase and headed to the Hogwarts train with Alecto and Giselle. The three girls picked a train compartment next to Evan Rosier, Lucius Malfoy, Antonin Dolohov, and Rodolphus Lestrange. The only reason why Malfoy was sitting with them (he usually sat alone because he didn't associate with people lower than him, Pureblood or not) was because all the train compartments were full.

"So Narcissa, have any of the boys caught your attention?" Giselle asked.

"No, I'm courting Malfoy, remember?" Narcissa replied.

"We are your best friends, we know you hate him," Alecto said.

"So who would you date if you didn't have to court Malfoy?" Giselle said.

"Augustus Rookwood," Narcissa whispered.

"But he's courting Janice Bulstrode!" Giselle said.

Narcissa chose to remain silent, which led to Giselle regretting her outburst. Carrow and Parkinson both knew Narcissa and Augustus had been in a relationship, but they had assumed Narcissa moved on when Rookwood decided to court bull-faced Janice Bulstrode.

After a long moment of silence, Alecto worked up the courage to move the topic to Quidditch teams, and Augustus Rookwood was momentarily forgotten.

---------------

The sudden stop of the train marked their arrival at King's Cross. Narcissa dragged her suitcase out of the compartment and walked off to the nearest exit. After exchanging brief hugs and kisses on the cheeks, Narcissa waved goodbye to her friends and headed to where her parents were waiting for her. Bellatrix was already there, leaning against her suitcase with a mischievous expression on her face. She wondered where Andromeda was- probably living with the Mudblood.

"Dearest Narcissa, do tell me about school. You haven't written to me in so long!" Druella exclaimed.

Narcissa took that to mean "you better tell me you did well in your classes or else."

"Well I have a pretty good chance of becoming Head Girl, as I was the most reliable Prefect this year. Slytherin won the House Cup. As for classes, I am doing well and maintaining good grades. Professor Slughorn told me I am probably the best student he's ever had- even better than Malfoy."

"Wonderful," a satisfied Druella responded.

"Speaking of the Malfoys, Abraxas offered for his son to tutor you this summer, as you will be taking N.E.W.Ts next year. After all, Lucius Malfoy got four Outstanding's and one Exceeds Expectations. This would also be a great bonding experience for you and him, since you won't be able to see him next year," Cygnus informed her.

"I can't say no, correct?"

Lord Black merely raised his eyebrow.

"Very well. I guess Malfoy will be tutoring me this summer," Narcissa said.

"Splendid. Now let us Apparate back to the Manor," Druella said.

Narcissa felt the familiar tug in her stomach as she Side-Along Apparated back home. She immediately went to make herself a cup of tea, ordering one of the many house elves to unpack. 

When Narcissa brought the tea tray upstairs, she noticed that the door that had previously been labeled "Andromeda" was now scratched out, the name barely visible. Another reminder of her traitorous sister. After setting down the tea tray on her table, Narcissa entered Andromeda's old room. A cold emptiness greeted her, and Narcissa stared sadly into the room for a few minutes before quietly closing the door and heading back to her own room. She had made herself a promise to not grieve over Andromeda, and she intended to keep that promise.