porcelain flower;

"Are you even listening to yourself?" 

Narcissa’s jaw tightened before she answered. How many times did she have to explain herself to him her plan to save her sister.  ‘ You know very well I would never put my own family in real danger. Andromeda was never going to be hurt like the rest of them, Bellatrix promised me that. He promised me that. ’

 "I have to go." 

date: july 29th, 1976 location: black family manor status: closed for @narcisscblck

Late afternoon. Regulus hadn’t slept. He’d done as he’d been asked, forced people down into a lair where they were to be kept and tortured for information and… and for what, he wasn’t sure. He wasn’t briefed, he just followed orders. It was to “make a statement”, honestly, and to him, it was dumb, but he was doing it, he was following these orders. Then he was following orders when he was told to go down and relieve people and… that’s when it happened. He saw her. He saw his cousin, trapped, held captive like some sort of animal.

If he thought trapping regular people and bloodtraitors was dumb, then this was— There was no word for this. He didn’t relieve those on guard. Instead he left; had to leave in order to keep himself from freeing her, and showed up at his cousins’ house, mask still on, yelling for someone to come down or come out or something. He needed to speak with someone rational.

“ Narcissa! ” He slammed a fist into her door. “ Are you there? ”

It wasn’t late, but Narcissa had already retired to her quarters after tea to attend to her sisters’ wedding books, flipping through catalogs and owling their usual vendors to set up appointments to figure out the menu and the music and the decorations. She wasn’t expecting company at all, let alone an insistent banging on her door that couldn’t go unnoticed, or stopped by the house staff. 

Narcissa pulled open the double doors leading to her room, not surprised that Regulus was standing there but absolutely stunned that he was still wearing his Death Eater mask.  ‘ Regulus, don’t be so dramatic. ’  She moved to the side before ushering him in,  ‘ Take that mask off, you’ll spook the house elves. What’s wrong? Do you want some water? Some tea? A potion? ’

DATE: December 14th, 1976

TIME: 13:00

LOCATION: The Potions classroom

AVAILABILITY: closed to @narcisscblck

Double Potions should have been Lily’s favorite class. She’d always had an aptitude for Potions- they were logical, straightforward. Things were wrong or right, with no grey space. But any class with Slytherins and Gryffindors was sure to be eventful, and Slughorn never had a shot at diffusing tensions in the classroom. His attempts at creating inter-house unity often ended with hexes, and Lily found herself constantly watching her back. Being paired with Narcissa Black certainly wasn’t improving her mood. “So, Draught of Peace? Shouldn’t be too hard, right?” Her facial muscles were straining to keep a semblance of a smile on her face- she was trying so hard to be congenial. 

It was surprising that Narcissa hadn’t poisoned everyone else in the class yet considering she was being forced to play nice with trash. Of course, forced is used lightly as Slughorn was always conveniently turned away whenever she blew a spell at a Gryffindor. It’s amazing what one could getaway with with a little bat of an eyelash and an invitation to various pureblood galas, balls, and dinners. But even blatant bribery couldn’t keep him from pairing the Black daughter with a MUDBLOOD. Pairings are random, he’ll say before nervously shuffling away to let them work.  ‘ Hmf, ’  she hummed,  ‘ shouldn’t be, so long as you’re doing what I say. ’

“Yes, it is.” Evan confirmed with a grin, smoothing a hand down the front of his suit jacket. It was what such occasions required; with too many purebloods all in the same room, one was required to leave an impression with not just their name but their presence as well. Dressing in extravagant clothes was one way to leave an impression and as Evan took in Narcissa’s glamorous dress, he could tell she also understood the way this all worked if not more than he did.

“Well, what can I say? I’m a busy man.” Evan responded as Narcissa led him deeper into the ballroom. He could tell that Narcissa was, to some extent, aware that he was not particularly passionate about such events but then again, she seemed disinterested herself. It was all so dull; he doubted that he was the only one who held that opinion.

“The cause of the charity and who it’s dedicated to, it’s all irrelevant, dear Narcissa,” Evan said, reaching out to pick up a glass of wine from the tray of a passing waiter. “What matters is how it further solidifies our influence on the community and reminds everyone that we have all the power. That if we choose to be good, we can also choose to be bad towards those who wrong us,” Any non-pureblooded wizard who heard those cynical statements would use them to tarnish Evan’s reputation of being a charming, kind-hearted man but the Death Eater felt no need to be on his guard or to be careful with his words when he knew he was surrounded by people who all shared the same perspective. He doubted a single person in this hall actually cared about the cause they were supposedly supporting. “It’s all about making a statement.”

Narcissa inclined her chin proudly, looking over the bespoke garment he wore. It was good to know that Evan’s standards for his appearance was suitable for her to be walking with him. Also considering his family’s place in society, it wouldn’t be wise of him to show up to an event in last season’s collection. Consider it her special way of checking up on him and his family.  ‘ I pray I don’t have to tell you how good you look, ’  she lilted, after all, perfection recognizes perfection. 

She hummed in response to his words. Sometimes she wished she had an excuse to skip the lower tier of events held by these social climbing families. It was something she envied of the Carrows and the Rosiers, that they could simply say they were too busy with their careers to grace banquet halls and ballrooms with their presence. She, on the other hand, was to sigh and feign graciousness and play the room like a simple game of chess. At least she then has a reason to purchase a new gown. 

‘ But of course we can never admit that so candidly, ’  she said, a smile growing on her lips.  ‘ If you’re not careful, darling, the common people are going to see past the looking glass. ’  She took another sip of her drink,  ‘ We might have a mutiny on our hands. ’  Evan was right, of course, that everything about their pureblooded society was for show. Some might have their suspicions about the sinister plans that run underneath, but without proof, the world would have to stay jaded. 

"Are you crazy?”

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Are you even listening to yourself?"

"Are you sure they won’t find out?”

"Are you sure this is legal?”

"Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

"Are you threatening me?"

"Be mine."

"Do I know you?"

"Do you love me?"

"Do you remember this?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Don’t go."

"Don’t let me die"

"Don’t look at me like that."

"Don’t make me beg.”

"Don’t you dare come near me!"

"Don’t you dare."

"Explain yourself."

"For you, I would _____"

"Give it back."

"Give me another chance."

"Have you ever even done this before?"

"How drunk are you right now?"

"I already regret this."

"I am not wearing that.”

"I can’t believe you missed that."

"I can’t do this anymore."

"I can’t even look at you."

"I could kill you!"

"I dare you." or "I dare you to _____."

"I didn’t do it.""

"I didn’t know you could do that."

"I don’t want to look at you right now.”

"I guess this is goodbye.”

"I hate you."

"I have to go."

"I just want to cuddle."

"I know your secret.”

"I love you, but I really wish I didn’t.”

"I love you."

"I miss you so very much."

"I missed you."

"I need a drink."

"I need a hug."

"I never really loved you."

"I owe you."

"I think I broke it."

"I think I’m falling in love with you. "

"I think I’m forgetting something."

"I think it’s broken.”

"I trust you."

"I want to be yours."

"I want to try this thing I read in a book.”

"I want you. Naked. In my bed. Now."

"I’ll be there in five minutes.”

”This is really inappropriate.”

"I’m all for spicing thing’s up, but isn’t this a bit much?”

"I’m bad for you.”

"I’m dying."

"I’m going to be sick."

"I’m not speaking to you anymore."

"I’m pregnant and it’s yours."

"I’ve never heard that one before."

"If you stay quiet, no one will know.”

"Is that my shirt?"

"It was me"

"It’s so beautiful.”

"It’s time to choose.”

"Just five more minutes."

"Just go."

"Just leave me alone."

"Just let me die."

"Just relax."

"Just what did we do last night?"

"Kiss me you idiot."

"Kiss me."

"Make me."

"Marry me?"

"My Parents don’t know"

"My parents know.""

"Never again."

"Nh, don’t be so rough!"

"No, that can’t be my baby."

"No! You can’t die on me now!"

"Put it away.”

"Put your trousers on!"

"Put. The. Weapon. Down."

"Shut up and listen."

"Take responsibility."

"That isn’t mine."

"That looked easier on TV."

"That sounds painful."

"That was a bad plan."

"That’s mine!”

"That’s the cheesiest pickup line I’ve ever heard."

"They’re coming.”

"This seems familiar."

"This stays between us."

"Truth hurts, don’t it?"

"Want to hear a secret?"

"We need to talk."

"We’re moving too fast.”

"Well that was unexpected."

"What are we doing here?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"What are you touching?"

"What are you?"

"What do you need?"

"What happened to you?"

"What have I done this time?"

"What if someone catches us?”

"What sort of noise was that?”

"What the hell do you think you’re doing?"

"What were you thinking?"

"Where are my clothes?"

"Where did you find this?"

"Where do you even find this sort of thing?”

"Where were you?"

"Who’d have guessed you could pull such a face?”

"Why are you wearing that?"

"Why yes, I am as think as you drunk I am."

"You could have died!”

"You could have killed someone!"

"You coward."

"You don’t need to be so gentle.”

"You drive me crazy!"

"You have ten minutes, so make it quick.”

"You lied to me!"

"You mean everything to me."

"You owe me."

"You. Come. Snuggle. NOW!"

"You’re all out of ____."

"You’re an idiot.”

"You’re bad for me.”

"You’re dead to me."

"You’re pregnant and It’s mine"

"You’re really good at this…”

"You’re so weird.""

date: july 20th, 1979; 10:34 PM location: malfoy manor  status: closed for @narcisscblck

Tonight lacked the usual exquisite charm he had grown to expect from events hosted by the Malfoy family. A truly unfortunate situation for Lucius and his family, Roman thought to himself as he danced with a daughter of the Shafiq family counting down the minutes till he finally could be freed from the burden of entertaining her for the night. As expected his parents were schmoozing the rest of the elite as if the world was their oyster to devour and to toss away once they have grown tired. 

Always smiling and laughing at the right moments, he thrived on social scene, but Roman felt bored tonight as he played the role of the dutiful son and rightful heir of the Mulciber family. He had spent more time with the girl he was currently twirling than he did with his friends. Granted, tonight Lucius was expected to play the role as a welcoming host leaving him to wonder where Isabella and Matthias were.  Sure, the girl before him was beautiful, but she was as boring as they came. Contrary to popular belief, he didn’t sleep with every girl he set his eyes on. He  liked seeing god damn personality in someone instead of a doll who agreed with everything he said and followed him around like a starving mutt. Where was the fun in someone born without any fight in them? 

At that moment, the arrival of Narcissa Black reminded Roman of an angel. Although he had assumed she would arrive earlier, since this was a Malfoy hosted event after all but what mattered to Roman most now was his escape key had shown itself. “Excuse me for a moment, I must greet an acquaintance of mine,” he flashed the girl an sincere-looking apologetic smile before proceeding to the entrance of the ballroom knowing he wasn’t going to be returning.

“Narcissa, gorgeous as always,” he greeted her with a genuine smile as he slid next to her with a spare champagne flute in his hand. 

Narcissa was dreading the day she was to step foot in the Malfoy Manor since her mother and father sat her down to tell her she was to marry the Malfoy heir. It wasn’t anything unexpected, she knew for years that families as influential and pure like hers stayed as such by marrying for power and lineage, not for love and not by her own accord. It was something she accepted a long time ago, but she was surprised of the fact that the time had come so soon. After all, each of her older sisters have had long engagements and Narcissa could still hear the faint sounds of Bellatrix’s wedding bells. Now she was expected to have one of her own not too long after Andromeda’s. It wasn’t fair to have to plan an extravagant affair in such a short time. 

Nevertheless, Narcissa put her best heel-clad foot forward and held her head high as she entered the manor,  ( fashionably late as she may add )  kissing her future mother-in-law on the cheek after presenting her with a rare wine from the Black Family cellars and a bouquet of specially bred roses from her family home’s garden. She gave a grateful nod to Abraxas Malfoy, and a well-mannered hello to her soon-to-be betrothed. Not wanting to spend another second in the foyer with what will be her family, she excused herself to take part in the dancing and dining, graciously apologizing and moving into the main ballroom as soon as she could. 

It was only then that she could take a breather as a rather close acquaintance of hers slithered up to her side offering a glass of champagne.  ‘ Roman, considerate of a lady as always, ’  she returned, taking the flute from his fingers and downing half the contents inside.  ‘ Where is your own little gaggle of friends tonight? Couldn’t make the guest list? ’

date: july 22nd, 1979 location: floriblunders florist status: closed for @narcisscblck

Moving in with a muggle was one of those ‘wake up in the middle of the night’ ideas that should have been left behind by morning. It was new, it was exciting, and it was driving her absolutely insane. Charity didn’t realized how much she relied on magic for the little things until she could no longer pull out her wand for everything and was suddenly faced with burnt toast, lost keys, and dying plants. It was having to witness the sad state of her flowers that finally pushed her to cheat so, swallowing her pride, she ventured into Carkitt Market in search of a magical cure.

“This stuff will last longer and costs more. But maybe the cheaper kind is better because it won’t work as well? But it’s not like she goes into my room or sees my plants enough to notice if they stop dying, so maybe I should just get what I know will work.” She continued chatting away to herself as she weighed pros and cons to one side of the florist, a magical ‘fix-it’ in each hand. Either-or decisions were not her strong point. “I could just buy them both and decide later? Is that a waste?”

The choice was so absorbing that when she turned to go ask the owner which he would pick, the only thing that prevented her from walking straight into the other customer in the store is the fact that they were a few feet away, and even then, it was a close call. “Oh, shoot, sorry–” Halfway through her apology she realized who she was talking to and stopped, relaxing. She moved to push some of her hair out of her face, remembered she was holding a bag of what basically amounted to fertilizer, and quickly returned her hands to her side. Why did she feel out of breath? Was she blushing? Was it obvious? 

“Hey! Uh– what’s up?”

Since Narcissa’s youth, Druella had insisted that a garden be kept for her daughters. Someplace for all three of them to play around outside or have a picnic in without being disturbed, filled with flowers enchanted to bloom in every season and a great willow tree with a bench swing. It was an integral part of Narcissa’s childhood, dragging her older sisters out to the garden for tea parties and gossip about their father’s colleagues’ newest mistresses. 

Now, though, it’s been years since she’s properly spent some time there and noticed a lack of flora fit for this part of the Black Sisters’ lives. Gone was the innocence, replaced by something more wicked and sensual, something more powerful. From baby’s breath to thorned roses, it was time for the sisters’ garden to reflect that. Narcissa took with her a house elf to the florist in order to pick out a new design for the garden, from the stepping stones to the grand fountains, the young witch planned to gut the entire plot to better suit her tastes.

But in her grand crusade of trying to get rid of the old, she was met with a ghost of her past. Not a ghost exactly, and not too far back into the past. Charity Burbage is ... a pretty little thing that Narcissa sunk her teeth into since Hogwarts. It was always easy to manipulate the girl, to get her to bare her soul out, and do things she wasn’t comfortable with doing. It was always fun, Narcissa remembers that. 

Last she heard, Charity was going to school again right after getting out of it. A muggle university was it? Oh the humanity, she knew the girl’s family was a tragic mix of blood traitors and half-breeds but to allow for a pureblooded witch to attend school with filth is too much. Narcissa got dizzy just thinking about it. Instead of showing her disdain, she just smiled warmly the way she does with Charity and reaches out to put her hand on her shoulder,  ‘ Charity, hello! It’s been far too long. ’

‘ I can touch my nose with the tip of my tongue. Not that I would ever give you a demonstration. ’

‘ Why would I even consider transforming into an animal ? ’

‘ Why mess with perfection ? My family on the other hand ... if anything I wish Sirius wasn’t so weak. ’

‘ Me, myself, and I. Roman isn’t completely atrocious, and the incomparable Alecto Carrow. ’

 ‘ Ideally in the Caymans with a drink in my hand and diamonds around my neck. ’

She laughs for what feels like minutes,  ‘ I haven’t gotten to know him at all. He’s attractive, I guess. And at least he’s pureblooded and from a good family. Our children will have that going for them. ’