#inarcissa

Family is important; that was the idea that had been the foundation of Caitriona’s childhood. Of course, now that she was older, she understood that there were certain caveats that went along with her parents’ edict, especially when it came to who, exactly, counted as family. Eamonn and Chu-Hua Burke would not approve of Caitriona’s continued connection with Andromeda now that she’d been disowned, which was why they didn’t know about it. And if her father knew what she and Regulus were working on in secret, Caitriona doubted they would still make the cut. Nevertheless, family was important, and there were appearances to maintain, so Caitriona met up with Narcissa, in theory, once a week for tea. In reality, Caitriona would beg off on occasion so it actually averaged out closer to twice a month, although she never made a pattern of it.

Narcissa had never been Caitriona’s favorite cousin, but there had been a time when she’d ranked higher in Caitriona’s esteem than now. When she was a child, the simple fact that Narcissa was older than her had been a source of awe, but that shine had long since worn thin. These days Narcissa was less that Caitriona thought she ought to be, and yet still a source of envy in a way that irritated Caitriona to no end. Narcissa was soft, a sign of weakness that Caitriona had never been allowed to indulge in, which is probably what came from having two elder siblings and two cousins who could be responsible for continuing the family name. And because of those things, Narcissa was also indulged. She was not married off as soon as she graduated from Hogwarts; she got to have a career that stimulated her. Meanwhile Caitriona withered under her parents’ expectations, her potential, which far outstriped that of her cousin, wasted. She knew it wasn’t Narcissa’s fault, but that only made the situation that much more maddening.

Caitriona was not looking forward to her tea with Narcissa today, but there was no graceful way to get out of it. She’d claimed a headache the previous week, and a minor emergency at Borgin and Burke’s the week before that, and to cancel again would be too obvious; not to mention the fact that they had a reservation at one of wixen London’s favorite tea shoppes, and failing to appear would be far too conspicuous. To top it all off, it was Narcissa’s birthday, and canceling plans on someone’s birthday was too rude, even for Caitriona’s standards. She had been steeling herself for a public appearance when she received a note from her cousin suggesting a more private tea. When Caitriona arrived at Cygnus and Druella Black’s elegant manor, her curiosity was peaked, but the time when she was willing to show such things to her cousin had long since passed. Instead, she followed the house elf into Narcissa’s chosen sitting room with an impassive expression. “Good afternoon, cousin, and Happy Birthday. It’s been too long.” Caitriona’s words carried a warmth she didn’t entirely feel, but she still delivered them flawlessly.