Hold the mask(Narcissa)

[quof]

Andromeda took a tentative step inside the room. She knew that students were allowed, of course, but she always felt strange in places that not a lot of people visited. She wasn’t sure why she was coming here either. Her only excuse was that she had been here six years and had never seen it. She was curious to see what types of awards people received. She walked around cautiously, her eyes slowing roaming over the various awards. She saw everything from academic recognitions to old Quidditch players and prefects.

Her eyes rested on a slightly peculiar award. It had been given to a Tom Riddle for Services to the School, but it gave no indication as to what service she had actually done. She frowned slightly. There was something about that name that seemed, familiar, though she couldn’t place what it was. Eventually she dismissed it as simply over-thinking, something she did quite frequently. She continued to drift around the room as she examined various plaques, but she found that her mind was drifting.

For always feeling a little lonely, she found that she reveled in these moments when there was no one around. She had no one to pretend for except herself. She sighed deeply and leaned against the wall, breathing as though her lungs had been constricted of air until this moment.

The she stopped, startled. Someone was coming. She straightened up quickly, her face fading behind a mask as she tried to imagine who could possibly be coming here.

[aliceagain]

Amycus Carrow. Of all the damned people it would be Amycus wouldn’t it? Why did she of all people have to attract the weirdo’s? Amycus and Lucius were both as bad as each other when it got down to it, but stupid her did her usual trick of not thinking before speaking. What honestly possessed her to accept a date with Amycus!? Was she crazy? And all of that just to annoy Lucius? Damn it, it had only succeeded in making him even more annoying than he had been before.

For the past week and a bit Narcissa had spent as much time as she could avoiding both of the boys though without much luck. Lucius always seemed to know where to look and Amycus was in half of her classes. She knew that she should just get the date over with but… she cringed. Amycus? Really?

Usually one to take her time, she was receiving a few strange looks as she fled across the entrance hall and up the first few flights of stairs, only slowing when she reached the second floor.

She didn’t care what she looked like right now she just needed to get away from her stalkers. Urg! She’d seen both of them heading towards her from different sides of the common room and ran. With a bit of luck they’d be like cats at each other’s throats right now and she wouldn’t have to worry about them. At the same time, that might just be wishful thinking. Both boys seemed to be lacking a few brain cells.

A door appeared somewhere to her left and, with a glance around to make sure no one was watching her, she pushed it open and slipped inside, the door closing tightly behind her. The trophy room. Surely they wouldn’t think to look for her in here.

With a sigh, she flicked her hair back from her face and headed across the room to where a small bench rested against the wall. If she was going to be alone for a while then she could at least get some work done in peace.

Reaching the bench she curled her nose up in disgust. For all the detentions served cleaning the trophies in this room, did no one think to dust the bench down? Pulling her wand out she flicked it silently, making the dust rise a few inches before disappearing. That was much better.

Absorbed in her own thoughts Narcissa failed to notice the figure who was stood on the opposite side of the room watching her.

[quof]

Andromeda looked down quickly as the person entered the room, so she didn't see her face. But there was something familiar about the back of blond-haired girl who was heading towards the bench on the other side of the room that made Andromeda think she knew who it was.

She smiled when she saw them wipe the dust off the bench before sitting on it. Yes, it was her sister. She was still slightly surprised to see her however. usually she didn't see her out of the company of her gaggle of female followers or male admirers. But here she was, looking rather irritable about something.

"Cissa?" Andromeda didn't always call her Cissy because she thought it sounded weird now that they were older.

Andromeda wasn't sure how she felt about her sister being here. On of the one hand, she had wanted the time to herself, but Narcissa was good company, and she hadn't had a decent conversation with her in a while. It always felt so wrong to talk to her the way she used to with so many people around. She missed the times when it had been easy, when talking to her famil had been as easy as breathing. Those days were gone, but perhaps she didn't have to lose every aspect of them.

"What are you doing here?" She kept her tone as light and a s casual as possible, just in case Narcissa was a lot more distressed that she appeared.

[aliceagain]

Narcissa hadn't been expecting to hear a voice from the other side of the room so hearing her name said startled her. Her eyes shot up and searched the room before setting on the familiar face of her sister. It was a bit of a strange place to be bumping into each other. "Dromeda." She nodded in aknowledgement. "I could as you the same question. It isn't like you to be found in a place like this."

It wasn't like her either, but at least she had something of an excuse.

She let her eyes drift over Andromeda. When was the last time that they spoke? Well, certainly not since they'd started back at school, that much was for certain. But even over the summer they hadn't really had much of a chance to talk.

Narcissa liked her life as it was, but there were somethings that she missed. Like the youthful innocence of children. Between getting older and the rise of the dark lord there seemed to be very little left in terms of innocent and naivety. Her relationships with her sisters was suffering from that loss.

"It feels like far too long since I last saw you, even though we're only a room appart."

[quof]

To some people, Narcissa may have seemed oddly formal, but such social distinctions were common in the black family, and Andromeda wasn't fazed by it. They often talked this way.
"I was...curious, and bored I suppose." Andromeda said.

Narcissa voiced the very thing Andromeda was thinking. That was the odd thing about them. They were completely different as far as personality went, and yet they were, similar, in some senses of the word. She sighed, yet there were so many things Narcissa didn't know, things that none of them knew, things that she could never tell them.

"We've just been--preoccupied." She tried to smile a little, but her face fell flat. She knew there was a lot more to it than that, and it was a rather pathetic excuse.

"So, have you liked O.W.L. year so far?" They were talking as though they barely knew each other, but in truth Andromeda had no idea what was going on Narcissa's life. Some sort of guy drama with Lucius, at least, she thought it was Lucius. She had only heard a few things through the grapevine, truth be told.

She sighed, feeling like the worst older sister ever.

[aliceagain]

Narcissa nodded. That she could understand. If you weren't someone who recieved detention on a regular basis, like herself and her sister, then there was very little reason to have to pass through the trophy room. Narcissa herself had only been in there in passing while she'd been doing her prefect duties, like evening rounds and ensuring that students had arrived to detention. She hadn't actually taken the time out to look around the room and see what was actually there. Though now it was mentioned, she was a little curious.

"Bordom is a common cause of curiosity, don't you find? If you were't bored you wouldn't be curious. Yet if you weren't curious, you'd still be bored." She shook her head slowly and smiled. Andromeda didn't need to be listening to the strange thinkings of her mind. "Personally, I'd much prefer to be here out of boredom..." She didn't do into any more detail than that. She'd had enough of being hounded with question regarding Amycus.

Narcissa could tell that there was more that Dromeda wasn't saying but she didn't push the topic. She'd learned to have a little respect for privacy over the years. "Isn't that the truth..." Again, she wished she at least had a proper excuse for not keeping in touch with her sister more.

Since the rise of the new 'dark lord' everyone seemed to be on guard about who they talked to and who they didn't. There was no easy banter like there used to be.

"OWL year is... interesting. Not much different to any year prior except that we no longer hear 'you need to revise because your OWLs are coming up next year' and it has been replaced with 'you need to revise because your OWLs are in a few months', and little else if different. If they spent less time talking about what they are planning to teach and spend more time actually teaching it then they might actually acheive something."

Both Andromeda and Bellatrix had done well in their OWLs and Narcissa had every intent in doing just as well, if not better. It wasn't because she wanted a 'one-up' over her sisters, she just knew of the difficulties some faced in being the youngest of the lot and she refused to get caught by that society trap.

"So tell me, what have I been missing? Any boy trouble so far this year? Spare me the pain of being the only one to suffer the 'male wrath'." Narcissa laughed softly. What were the chances that Andromeda had somehow found herself a charming boyfriend while Narcissa got to run around hiding from the likes of Amycus and Lucius. There were so many other well suited Slytherins... why could none of them look her way and take an interest?

She sighed. There was so little logic in lifes' workings sometimes.

[quof]

Andromeda a remembered another reason why she liked Narcissa. she could take the simplest comment and turn it into something so eloquent and poetic. Andromeda played her words over in her head a couple of times times, contemplating them with a smile smile.

She listened and nodded at her sister's words, remembering going through the exact same thing.
"I Know, the O.W.L.S wouldn't have seemed so bad if they weren't always talking about them." Most people assumed Andromeda did great on texts, but she actually had really bad nerves when it came to exams and had almost had a nervous break down last year. Thankfully it had been an almost.

"You'll get through alright, I bet." she said comfortingly. Her first thought was that she had been right, there was something boy related going on in Narcissa's life. Though her tone was light, Andromeda thought she sensed some frustration under it, though she didn't make any comment. If her sister wanted to talk about it, then she Would talk about it. It was as simple as that.

But as to whether Andromeda herself had boy drama was something else. Her first was no, of course not, she was...wait, Ted. The guy she had had a decent conversation with, and who also happened to be a muggle-born. She couldn't tell his sister that, not in a million lifetimes. Besides, she wouldn't call whatever had happened with ted drama, she would call it confusing.

"I'm sorry sister, but I am afraid you are alone in that department." She felt kind of guilty for lying to her sister, though technically she was always lying to her family. But usually they were were vague half-truths instead of full out dishonesties.
"And, are you well, considering all this..drama?" Perhaps she was contradicting herself, but she felt it was in duty as a elder sister to make sure things were alright with her bay sister, especially in that department.

[aliceagain]

Narcissa let out a small laugh. "Lucky for some." At least Andromeda didn't have her own Amycus/Lucius fan club to worry about. At the same time, she really should be thinking about finding someone/ As soon as Andromeda turned 17 their parents would do exactly the same as what they were doing with Bellatrix. Constant and persistent nagging.

Of course, it was tradition in many wizarding households for children to be married shortly after their seventeenth birthdays, and many parents would organize arranged marriages to ensure that their child / children were married into a suitable family with a worthy name and pure lineage.

Narcissa was fiercely glad that their parents were at least giving them a small chance to make their own decisions regarding marriage. Bellatrix was, for lack of better words, 'doing their heads in'. Her sister had best watch her back, because Narcissa had no doubt that their parents would only take so much of her wild ways before they arranged a husband for her and took all choice away.

And that, for sure, was something Narcissa hoped didn't happen to her. She wanted to at least have some choice in the matter. He would need to be from a worthy, pureblood family, yes, but she knew a lot of the wizarding purebloods who were available...

But God help her don't make it Amycus or Lucius!

Narcissa turned her attention back to her sister as she spoke again. She sighed and looked away. She couldn't help but want to tell Andromeda about what was happening. She was her sister. And surely she'd have something different to say than their older sister... Bellatrix was blunt, hard-hearted, and brutaly honest. Andromeda was a much kinder and considerate person. There was no doubting that the three of them could be very, very different people.

"As well as one can be when they're forced to stomach the very idea of a date with Amycus Carrow. Heaven knows I can think of better people to be spending my time with. But that's my own fault I supposed. It beats the alternative but I'm wondering whether its worth it..."

[quof]

yes, lucky Andromeda mused sarcastically , exactly the word to describe me. truth be told Andromeda had never shown much interests in boys, and boys had never shown much interest in Andromeda. They would usually flock to her sisters, and it was only after those rejections that they would begin to notice the other black sister. Her cold and boring outward manner usually made them lose interest pretty quickly, however. Not Ted though, which was what made him so strange...

She listened to her sister's story with a slightly bemused expression. Narcissa and...Amycus? She could quite imagine that, how had it ever happened? Andromeda had never much liked Amycus, she found him annoying, and she had gotten the impression that Narcissa hadn't liked him much either. And what was the alternative? She couldn't mean Lucius, could she?
She debated which questions if any, to ask, before deciding to take a risk.

"I don't mean to intrude, but why are you going on a date with Amycus, exactly?" She wouldn't reply if she didn't want too, Andromeda assumed.

[aliceagain]

Narcissa let out a sigh and shook her head, before looking directly at her sister. She might as well be truthful. If anyone would give her a few words of reassurance she knew Andromeda would. "Because I'm a fool who tends to 'do' before 'think'. You've no doubt seen the way Lucius has been acting. Same way as he's acted for a while now. Well, I'm more than a little fed up with his...drooling, for lack of a better term. I had every intention of telling Amycus where to shove his 'a date will be fun' talk until I saw Lucius heading my way. As said, I don't think, I just do. And as usual I've stepped into something of a predicament in doing so."

She smiled softly at her sister. The two of them really didn't talk enough. They might not be close but Narcissa still felt that Andromenda was someone she could trust not to gossip to. She hadn't intended to go into so much detail, but once she started speaking it was just too easy to tell Andromeda everything.

[quof]

Andromeda could almost laugh at the irony of her sister's situation, almost. She was also glad that she had in fact gotten the name of her—admirier, correct. It would seam that Narcissa did indeed have boy drama. It was a mighty good thing Andromeda was not in her position, for even though she was one to think every action over carefully, she had no idea what to do when it came to the male population. Which meant she had no idea what word a of advice to offer her sister, But perhaps she didn't need any.

"I see," she said, finally coming to sit by her sister. "That would be an—interesting—predicament. But Amycus isn't that unsufferable and even if he is you could always jinx him, or get Bellatrix to do it." Though Narcissa might not want to get there elder sister involved, and she couldn't blame her.

"Though I have a feeling if you were to truly release your—inner spirit—Amycus wouldn't know what hit him." Some people assumed Narciisa was shallow because she spent so much time perfecting her appearance. But Andromeda had always found her sister to be a person of great depth, it was one of the reasons she enjoyed speaking with her.

[aliceagain]

"I wont risk a tarnish to my record for someone like Amycus. As for asking Bellatrix that's completely out of the question. She's already had a thing or two to say... And of course the two of them have something in common, don't they?" The last part was sneered and he shook her head. They were both so in love with 'the dark lord' but Narcissa really couldn't see the appeal. Why would anyone want to get their hands dirty doing other people's dirty work? Well, if they were somewhat power crazed like her eldest sister then maybe it wasn't so hard to understand.

She let Andromeda's words sink in for a few minutes. Release her inner spirit... Narcissa smirked. "I suppose I could talk him to boredom, couldn't I? Amycus isn't one for more 'complex and elaborate vocabulary to enhance ones dialogue and aptitude in profound regard to the mother parlance'." She laughed freely. "Now that would definitely work. It wouldn't even matter if it made sense or not so long as it sounds complicated. He wont know either way what I'm saying."

Narcissa looked at her sister who sat beside her and smiled. "A splendid idea. We really don't talk enough, do we?"

[quof]

Andromeda smiled when Narcissa mentioned that Amycus and Bellatrix had something in common, but a dark feeling had crept into her chest. Though her sister had never outright said she had joined with this, dark lord, Andromeda was certain she had, and it frightened her. But more so was the fear that Narcissa would follow in her footsteps. Judging by her comment she had not, and wasn't planning on it, which relieved Andromeda to no end. She had heard the rumors of what these Death Eaters had been doing, and of course there had been that attack on Hogwarts students not too long ago. But there were some evidence that these death Eaters were killing people. Narcissa was many things, but she was not a killer, and Andromeda hoped she would stay that way.

She tried to force these dark thoughts away, for they had no place in their light conversation. She laughed a little at her sister's description. "It's a pity I won't be able to see it." Though of course tagging along would be a terrible idea, no matter how interesting this date might turn out to be.

And yes, they should talk more. They were sisters, and they should be having conversation like this on a daily basis.
"Let's focus on the fact that we are talking now, shall we?"

[aliceagain]

Narcissa looked to Andromeda. "I intend to avoid him as much as possibly, but I get the feeling that come the Ball I'll have no choice but to face him. Are you attending? It's sure to be marvelous again this year."

Pity indeed. If Andromeda wanted to trade places with her for the sake of this date then Narcissa wouldn't think twice about doing so. Urg! Anything not to have to face him... Either of them. There were so many charming Slytherins, why couldn't any of then look her way for once?

With a sigh she focused on what her sister was saying and smiled. "We need a schedule. A time and a place where we can have these conversations like this. Heaven knows I need a little bit of sanity every once in a while. I feel like I hardly know you these days. Really, I've said enough about my troubles, tell me what's going on with you. You can't tell me you don't have a date to the Ball. Some one must have asked you by now - look at you." Narcissa smiled again. She wasn't usually one to dish out compliments but there was no doubt that her sister was another beautiful daughter of Black. Besides, being nice didn't hurt anyone.

[quof]

Andromeda shuffled awkwardly. She wasn't sure she wanted attend, since balls and parties really weren't her thing, but saying so felt like pushing her sister away again, for whatever reason. So instead she said. "I was thinking about it." She sighed inwardly, now she would feel obligated to come. Oh well, it couldn't be that bad, could it?

She just nodded about the schedule. It seemed like a good way of making sure she didn't cut herself off from her family again. "This isn't such a bad spot." she said looking around, "But it would be a little inconvenient. There's always the common room, unless..." Unless the things they wanted to discuss were not things that they wanted other ears to be privy too.

She wondered how she could tell her sister she didn't want to talk about her life. Wasn't that more selfless, only wanting to help her sister and not receive any help in return. Except she knew that wasn't her true motivation. Whatever she had said she wanted, she still didn't feel comfortable opening herself up, not after she had been closed for so long. But that was its own form of selfishness. If she really wanted to change things between her and her sister, then she had to be willing to let down her guard. It wasn't fair otherwise.

But that was easier said than done. "You need more than beauty to get a date, dear sister. You need charm, and that is something I lack." Though she could think of an exception to that rule. She looked over at her sister. She wanted to tell her about Ted, about their lunch time meetings, about how confusing the whole thing felt. Her sister would probably be able to help her out more than anyone. But she couldn't. Narcissa wasn't Bella, but she had been raised in the same house and lived by the same standards. Andromeda couldn't tell her, but she wanted too...

"There is someone who I've been talking to lately. A guy, but it's not that kind of relationship, He's more of a, he's just a friend." She said with a shrug, maybe she could get by with a few vague references and never have to say his name. She wasn't sure if Narcissa knew who ted was, but she would definitely find out if Andromeda told her.