Emeralds and Ashes

Since the altercation with the Slytherins, the two factions, as they were now called, had kept their distance. The future Death Eaters did nothing more than glare at them from across the hall or classroom. There had been no repeat of their previous exchange, and Harry was at least thankful for the little respite. It had become tough for him to control himself the last time and he did not want another encounter so soon.

The meeting with Dumbledore also made him seethe whenever he thought about it. The old wizard truly had the audacity to try and have any sort of his pacifist influence over him. He thought he might have acted a bit rashly, and probably a little out of line as well, but he did not care. In that moment, the negative feelings he had harbored for the old wizard owing to the life he had led in the previous timeline had come to the forefront of his mind, and he lashed out.

No matter what he had said to the old wizard in their final meeting before he made the time jump, he had neither forgotten anything, nor had he forgiven the man. Playing the morally superior character truly didn't suit Dumbledore, and Harry would have never bothered speaking to the man. However, he also knew that defeating Voldemort required Dumbledore's help. His magical prowess aside, Dumbledore also had immense political power which he wielded from behind the scenes, not very much unlike Slughorn. There was more room behind the throne indeed.

However, Harry didn't care. Dumbledore was not his friend, nor was he his mentor or anything else. He was simply an ally against his biggest foe, and even that was looking tentative now. For all his talk of working against Voldemort, Dumbledore didn't seem like a good enough ally if he was going to be a pacifist like this. Perhaps it was because nothing had happened yet, but it didn't seem Dumbledore was taking this as seriously as he should.

Harry's priority was to deal with Voldemort by any means. That included placing a modicum of trust in the old wizard. However, if the headmaster didn't prove to be useful, then he would have to proceed on his own. He had allies in the Wizengamot already, and he believed that even though Dumbledore could not stop Voldemort from running amok with his propaganda in the school, he would at least act against his attacks outside it. He could only wish his faith was not misplaced.

He had not been lying when he said he would not do anything to those wizards unless they gave him a reason to, and he intended to honor that promise. He would not act out against those assholes, but he would not hesitate in taking action if they stepped out of line either.

"Ready, mate?" James asked, clapping him on the back with a grin. Sirius stood right beside him with his patented smirk plastered on his face.

"Don't make a fool of us and we'd be good, ya hear?" He teased. "Our reputation will take a huge hit if you don't outclass those idiots, that one in particular."

Harry looked over at the boy Sirius had pointed out and recognized him as the one who had protested his direct inclusion in the Quidditch team.

"Don't worry, Padfoot. No way my cousin here screws up. Balls of steel, this one," James remarked with absolute confidence and turned around to look at everyone gathered on the pitch.

"Alright, you dimwits!" The boy shouted. "Gather around for the tryouts or fuck off for all I care. I won't bother calling you twice."

The prospective students who were trying out quickly assembled as James looked on critically.

"A bit too many for a tryout, don't you think, Padfoot?" James asked, looking at the twenty-one gathered witches and wizards who were trying out for the only available spot. "Listen up, y'all. We don't need so many for only one position. The snitch would pass out in a jiffy. Here's what we're gonna do. You all will race around the pitch. One full lap, and the first five qualify for the deciding round. Sounds good?"

There were mutterings around the gathering which ceased as Harry took his place at the starting point. The rest of the students followed suit immediately.

Off to the side, the rest of the Quidditch team was standing, looking on.

"On an idiot's cry then," James called out with a grin, and before he could do or even say anything, James' stinging hex collided with Sirius' backside and he let out a loud yelp.

Harry snorted out loud and shot forward quickly, taking a significant lead before the rest could even get over their initial surprise. However, once they caught their bearings, they too sped ahead.

"You asshole!" Sirius cried out, rubbing his sore backside as the rest of the assembled crowd of team members and onlookers snickered.

"What? Was funny, wasn't it?" James responded with an unapologetic grin before pointing toward the pitch. "Look over. Our guy's in the lead."

And quite a significant lead it was. Harry had flattened himself over the broom, reducing the surface area to the minimum possible and eliminating as much friction as he could. As such, even the Cleansweep he was riding on didn't slow him down much. It was understandably nothing compared to his Firebolt or even his Nimbus, but this was the best he could get right now.

It didn't take too long for him to finish the lap, and he was greeted with grinning faces of his teammates which comprised of James, Sirius, Frank, Fabian, Gideon, and oddly, Katherine, who was one of the chasers. It seemed it was in Katie's blood to be a Quidditch player. Katherine was the only girl on the team, but that didn't deter her even slightly and she could give even James a run for his money.

"Easy enough," he chuckled as he dismounted. Frank clapped him on the back.

They didn't have to wait long for the race to conclude, and the other four stepped to the side when prompted. Harry saw that the boy who had complained earlier was still in contention. It seemed he was indeed one of the better ones.

"Alright, y'all," James smiled. "Thanks for trying out and be sure to work hard and try again next year. You can go to the stands now."

The eliminated students sighed and walked off the pitch. James turned to look at the five remaining ones.

"Okay then. This should be fairly simple. Here is the practice snitch," he said, holding up the little golden ball between his fingers. "All of you will go against each other, and the one who catches the snitch will be the winner."

"Fair enough," Harry nodded and mounted his broom, hovering over them. The remaining students looked up at him and followed suit, quickly joining him over the pitch.

"On the count of five!" James called out as he released the snitch, which disappeared in an instant.

"One! Two! Three! Four!… Five!"

Right at the shout, all of them shot in different directions, looking around for the snitch. However, Harry ascended higher into the air and once he had reached the desired altitude, he started to scan the pitch for any hint of the elusive golden ball.

Meanwhile, the others immediately started to fly from one segment of the pitch to another, never staying stationary and furiously looking around for the snitch.

A glint of gold near the opposite hoops made his eyes widen, and Harry rocketed forward, urging the broom to go as fast as it could. The others were too far away, apart from that one guy who had complained about his direct inclusion. His eyes widened when he saw him coming toward him at a fast pace, and he started to quickly look around, trying to spot the snitch.

Harry was almost near the hoops when he suddenly started to slow down and sighed. It was not the snitch but a little golden engraving of the snitch on the large hoop he had spotted.

The other boy stared at him keenly and Harry ignored him. Turning around, he ascended once again. However, there was one noticeable difference this time. The boy had chosen to tail him, and remained only a few feet behind him.

"You won't win, Peverell," his shout cut through the breeze at such high altitude. Harry ignored him.

The boy, seeing he was being ignored, gritted his teeth.

"You think you could just barge in and steal a spot on the Quidditch team? No matter how friendly you might be with Potter and his little group of prats, you'll never find favoritism in Gryffindor. If you want something, you'll have to earn it."

Even though he was ignoring the boy, his constant prattling was slowly getting on his nerves, interfering with his scanning.

He looked all around the pitch and suddenly shot forward rapidly. The boy was surprised for only a second before he gave chase. He was right behind the tail of his broom. Harry slowed down marginally so that the gap between them reduced, and now they were almost side to side.

Harry glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw the boy looking ahead frantically, trying to spot the snitch. However, there was nothing he could see.

"You're trying to make me crash!" The boy cried out suddenly and pulled back with all his might, grunting as he came to a sudden stop before he gave one final glare at the back of the still descending wizard. However, he suddenly frowned when Harry didn't stop.

His eyes widened when Harry reached the ground, gave a harsh tug on his broom to stop it inches above the ground and quickly picked the snitch out from under the grass where it had been hiding like a little pipsqueak.

A loud bang echoed around as James signaled the end of the tryouts and the students made their way back to where the team was gathered.

"As you all can see, Harry caught the snitch. I want no complaints, especially from you, Smith," the boy remarked, looking pointedly at the one who had protested against Harry's inclusion the most. The boy sulked but didn't say anything. Nodding toward the boy, James looked at Harry and grinned.

"Welcome to the team, officially."

-Break-

"That was so unnecessary," James remarked when they returned to their common room and took their place on the couch. It was only the Marauders now, with Frank and the Prewett twins having gone somewhere else.

"At least no one would accuse you of favoritism now, so there's that," Peter remarked. James nodded with a sigh.

"You're showing it pretty early, Moony," Sirius commented with a frown. Remus smiled tiredly.

"It happens sometimes."

The full moon was only a few days away, and Harry knew that the remaining marauders always joined Remus on his transformations. He looked at Sirius when the boy waved his hand in front of him.

"What about your form, mate? You said you were working on one?"

Harry nodded. He had indeed been working on his animagus transformation under Arcturus' instructions and had managed successful transformations in the previous timeline. However, since traveling back in time, he had initially been having some issues with it. It had taken him working on the skill for a few days to get the hang of it once again. He didn't know what caused the issues, but he had resolved them and it was all in the past now.

"Yeah, I'll join you four. I won't be with you all on the ground though," he replied with a small smirk.

"Always knew you were a disgusting fish," Sirius mocked and had to quickly duck under the stinging hex that missed his face by inches. Wide-eyed, he stared at Harry who gazed back evenly. "What's up with the stingers today!?"

"You ask for it every time, Padfoot," Peter remarked with a laugh, which they all joined in.

"Yeah yeah, fine. What's your form though? Not a fish. A bird then?"

Harry nodded.

"After seeing you fly, it makes perfect sense," James chuckled.

"What about your spell practices?" Harry changed the topic, looking at them. "You told me you'd be practicing with Remus and Peter here."

James nodded firmly with a serious look on his face. "We will start tomorrow evening onward."

"I still don't understand why though," Remus remarked with a frown. "Don't get me wrong. I know that it would help us with the practical portion of our OWLs, but what you two have proposed seems a bit over the top."

Peter nodded from beside him. James sighed.

"I don't trust those fucking pricks from Slytherin not to try and curse us in the back. You remember what happened that night, don't you?" Sirius asked. "That is why we should become capable of defending ourselves if it is needed."

"And I told you Lily, you're wrong!" An irate voice suddenly came from near the entrance to the common room, and they turned to look at Marlene who strode in with Lily and Alice trailing behind her. The marauders were the only ones present in the common room at the moment, and it seemed the girls had not noticed them considering the couches they were sitting on were situated at the far end of the common room.

"You must have misunderstood, Mar," Lily tried. "He would never say something like that."

"Well, he did. I honestly don't get why you take his side so much, when the truth is there for all to see. Snape is a friend of those idiots who fought Peverell. Of course he would share their opinions and views," Marlene replied with a scoff.

"What did Snivellus do?" Sirius asked, and the girls whirled around in surprise. Their eyes widened when they saw them.

"That's none of your business, Black," Marlene replied with a sigh and turned toward the staircase.

"I warned you, didn't I?" Sirius continued. "I told you to mind yourself around him and his cronies. What did he do, McKinnon?"

"She said it's none of your business, Black. Why can't you understand?"

"I'm not talking to you, Evans," Sirius replied with a glare, surprising Lily who took a step back. He turned back to look at Marlene whose eyes widened. "What did he do?"

Marlene sighed. "He called me a stupid blood traitor and said I keep the company of mudbloods and filth. Happy now?"

"He what!?" James asked in a dangerous whisper as he came forward.

"There's no way Severus would ever say that, and never about me. He is not like those idiots in Slytherin," Lily interjected firmly.

"I can't be bothered to argue with you on this, Lily," Marlene sighed. "Whether you believe it or not is up to you. But he did say it, word for word. He might not call you that word to your face, but you better believe that's what he thinks. Face it, Lily. The boy you considered your friend and Severus Snape are two different people."

With her bit said, Marlene walked up the stairs without a backward glance. Sirius stared up the staircase with gritted teeth.

"I told you, Evans," James said with steel in his voice and Lily turned to glare at him. "I told you, time and time again, that Snivellus is like those bigoted assholes in Slytherin. You refused to believe it every single time. Now what? Going to say your dear friend is lying too?"

"You just can't miss an opportunity, can you, Potter?" She hissed. "Even a little chance and you jump at it to badmouth Severus. You're honestly pathetic."

James stared at her with a disdainful look on his face.

"It's really sad that you can't see what's staring you in the face," he sneered. "Everyone knows what kind of people those pricks are, your dear friend Severus included, except you. How long will you continue living in denial, Evans?"

"You don't need to bother yourself with that, Potter," Lily glared. "I will be talking with Severus. There's no way he believes in all that filth. You'll see soon."

James stared at her glaring face for a long moment before he released a tired sigh.

"You know, Evans, I loved you," James said honestly. Lily's eyes widened, and so did everyone's. The boy looked at her and chuckled mirthlessly. "Surprising, isn't it? Be as it may, but I really did."

His eyes hardened, and Lily found herself rooted to the spot, unable to look away.

James continued, "And now I wonder just how I fell for you. I've been thinking lately, you know? Harry told me how I had to mature a bit if I wanted you to like me. But now I realize it's not just me who needs to mature. I guess I had put very little worth in myself if I was ready to bend over for you, when instead I think it's you who don't deserve me, not like this."

"What are you—" Lily started before he cut her off.

"You can go on and behave like the idiot you've been, Evans. I'm done bothering myself with you," James declared, to everyone's surprise. He smiled sadly at the girl and shook his head. "I'm through with you, Evans. Do what you want to do with yourself. However, for what it's worth, I really hope for your sake that this blindfold you have so eagerly wrapped around your eyes when it comes to Snape comes off before you get hurt."

With a final nod, James turned around and walked out of the portrait hole, shutting the common room door firmly behind him and leaving a shellshocked group of students. Lily stayed rooted to the spot for a few seconds, eyes wide in disbelief before she abruptly turned around and darted upstairs. Alice stared at the boys with wide eyes and Harry gave her a subtle nod. She quickly rushed after the redhead.

"Fucking hell," Sirius muttered as he walked over and dropped on the couch. Harry stared furiously into the fire in silence.

-Break-

It was a few hours into curfew when Harry walked back and forth in front of the Room of Requirement, sighing when the door didn't materialize. It seemed his hunch was right.

Whipping his wand out, he conjured his Patronus and whispered something. The ethereal stag phased through the room and he leaned against the opposite wall with his hands in his pockets, staring at Sirius who was standing a few steps in front of him with a frown.

"Your Patronus looks a lot like Prongs' animagus form, you know?" Sirius remarked keenly. Harry shrugged.

They didn't have to wait for long as the door opened.

"Merlin, Prongs," Sirius whispered as he stared at the disheveled look his best friend sported. Harry sighed and walked over to join them. The trio walked inside the room and the door vanished behind them. Harry willed the room to conjure three comfortable chairs and a table with an assortment of food directly from the kitchens.

"Eat," he instructed the boy when he looked in surprise, and with a sigh, James started to eat. Sirius stared at his friend with sadness while Harry looked on sternly.

"I better not find you skipping meals like this, or acting like a lovesick fool who's got his arse kicked. You're better than that," he remarked firmly. James looked up with a glare which quelled down under Harry's penetrating stare.

"Look, I'm not here to lecture you or anything. What you want to do when it comes to Lily is your decision. I have no right to interfere, so I won't. But as the oldest of us, I do have something to say, if you're open to listening, that is," Harry continued. James frowned but gave a short nod as he continued to eat.

"Tell me something first. What do you know about Snape's connection to Lily?"

Eyes downcast, James replied in a scratchy voice, "He was the one who told her that she was a witch. They met a few years before we started Hogwarts and have been friends since."

Harry nodded, "They are childhood friends, and as such, Lily has a fond memory of Snape, probably similar to what you and the Marauders have here?"

James shrugged. "Maybe, I guess so."

Harry nodded.

"Now, if someone comes to you, saying that Sirius had become a pureblood supremacist, would you believe it? Or let's say, in the future, if someone tells you that one or more of Sirius, Remus or Peter have joined Voldemort, what would your reaction be?"

"Fuck no! There's no way any of us would ever do that!" Sirius retorted in place of James. Harry winced internally, considering what Pettigrew had done, but outwardly, he continued to stare at James, who sighed in understanding.

"Now you understand why Lily is so hellbent on defending Snape, don't you?" Harry asked with a small smile. "In the future, if, suppose, Peter does indeed join Voldemort and someone tells you about it, I'm sure you won't even consider it. Your trust in each other is too much."

"But I'll for sure consider it if Moony or Padfoot told me about it," James replied. Harry nodded.

"Like what Marlene did today. And what did Lily say? That she would talk to Snape about it. Tell me, won't you do the same with Peter?"

James frowned. "But there is one thing you are missing, Harry. It is blatantly obvious for everyone to see what kind of person Snivellus is. If Peter or anyone else acted like that, I won't need someone else to tell me that he was in the wrong. I could see it with my two eyes and understand the truth with this brain I have here."

Harry chuckled. "And you think Snape has ever acted out of order with Lily in sight? Can you recall even one incident when he has shown his true colors in front of Lily?"

James opened his mouth to reply, only to come up short. He could indeed recall no instance of Snivellus behaving like that in front of Lily. Harry looked at him with an understanding gaze.

"You can't recall even one incident, right? Then how can you expect Lily to believe it when she has never seen him acting like that?"

"I get it," James replied, frowning.

"Look mate," Harry rubbed his face with a sigh, "You admitted for everyone to hear that you loved Lily. Until now, you have only pestered her with your advances. You never said anything about your feelings. Now that you have, you better believe she would be thinking about everything in an entirely different light. After all, you don't say something like that and assume there would be no effect. That girl would be beside herself now, I can tell you that much."

James nodded, looking down on his half-eaten plate.

"I will only tell you to rethink on what you just said to Lily. Whether you still decide to cut ties with her is another matter, but think about it once again," Harry continued. "Now that you understand where she is coming from, that's the least you can do."

With a sigh, James leaned back and looked up at the ceiling. It reflected the cloudy sky outside. In a soft voice, James replied, "I think I need to take my mind away from Lily for some time."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked inquisitively. James looked at him and gave a small smile.

"Things have been different between me and her this year. Probably because of what has happened already so far. It seems a little bit of time away from her would do my mind a whole lot of good."

Harry nodded. "As I said, it's up to you. Think on it and decide. You don't have to answer to anyone but yourself. And you," he turned to look at Sirius.

"What about me?"

"What's going on between you and Marlene now?"

"Nothing," the boy shrugged.

"Yeah, pull another one," Harry replied. "With the way you'd been warning her about Snape and how you reacted after she came back this evening, don't think anyone who heard about it will have any doubts."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sirius shrugged.

"Seems I have to spell it out for you," Harry sighed. "Go and ask her out if you fancy her so much already."

Sirius looked at him and laughed.

"Seriously?" He wheezed. "No way I'm tying myself to one. The charm of Sirius Black is too valuable to be wasted on a single woman."

"How many girls have you hooked up with this year then?" Harry asked and leaned back in his chair. "Go on, I'm very interested in listening."

"W-well, everything's on track. It's only been a little while since we got back here. Soon you'll hear about the great Sirius Black pleasuring witch after witch in the broom closets… or maybe I'll bring some of them here. Seems more versatile," Sirius grinned as he looked around.

"She won't wait forever, Padfoot," Harry remarked gently. Sirius' grin faded for a second before it returned full force.

"Her loss then. I've told her that she's welcome to join the illustrious club already. If she doesn't, what else can I do?" The boy shrugged. Harry looked at him and sighed.

"I hope you don't regret it when someone else takes her away. I've already seen a few blokes giving her interested looks, not that I can blame them. That one's a looker," Harry remarked teasingly.

"Oi! Keep your eyes on my cousin, will you?"

"Jealous much?" Harry grinned.

"Ha!" Sirius scoffed. "As if. It's just I've got a little bit riding on you getting it on with Cissy. You know, pissing Malfoy off. By the way, I'm sure you must've made some progress. No way Malfoy would've acted out like that if he didn't feel threatened."

Harry didn't bother to verbally reply and instead, he leaned back with a self-satisfied smirk and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Let's just say that Malfoy's seen nothing yet."

Sirius grinned. "Just make sure I'm there when you snog Cissy's brains out in front of that peacock. I want to savor the moment."

"You know," Harry began with a deadpan look on his face. "The way you're talking, anyone would be hard-pressed to guess that she's your cousin."

Sirius waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not saying I'll watch you two fuck. Snogging's normal."

Harry shook his head in exasperation and even James chuckled.

"I seriously don't understand how that mind of yours works," he remarked honestly as Sirius grinned. However, his next words sobered the boy up real quick.

"Bad times are coming, Sirius. We don't know what could happen to any of us. Do you really want to take the risk just to keep up this charade of a depraved idiot? Think about it, mate."

He stared at Sirius who looked back at him in silence. Off to the side, James frowned.

"Why is your Patronus so similar to my animagus form?"

Harry sighed.

"I have no idea."

-Break-

A large eagle-owl flew through the corridors of Hogwarts in the darkness of the night, descending the levels until it reached the dungeons. Here underwater, this was the only way for it to deliver the letter it had been entrusted with. The creature flew through the small owl hole that usually let the owls in and it didn't take long for it to reach its destination.

Narcissa immediately caught sight of the owl, and her eyes widened when she recognized it. Quickly, she took the letter from it and frowned as she looked at the envelope. Its delivery done, the owl took off without any delay.

"What was father's owl doing here?" Bellatrix asked as she came out of the bathroom clad in her usual nightwear. Narcissa shrugged and pulled the letter out. The more she read, the fainter she felt until the letter dropped out of her hands and fell to the floor.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Bellatrix asked with a frown and bent down to pick the letter up. As she started reading, her eyes widened.

Narcissa,

I have been approached by Lord Abraxas Malfoy regarding a potential betrothal between his son and heir Lucius, and you. It is my belief that this is a very advantageous match for us. To have the future lord of the House of Malfoy as your husband is something I never thought I could ever arrange considering we are not the part of the main line of the House of Black.

Daughter, after what happened with Andromeda, this is quite possibly more than I could have ever imagined for you, and I would very much appreciate it if you and Heir Malfoy could start to get familiar with one another.

There is nothing official yet. However, Lord Abraxas and I have reached a verbal agreement and once your grandfather returns to Britain, I believe it would not take much longer for us to make it official.

I want you to consider the betrothal already in place and act accordingly, Narcissa. I know I do not need to tell you this, but I implore you to exercise extreme caution nonetheless and ensure you do not follow into Andromeda's footsteps. Our position in this family is already very precarious, and I know you are intelligent enough to know what any misstep could entail.

Conduct yourself as befitting your station, Narcissa. I know you will not disappoint me.

With all my blessings,

Your Father

"What the actual fuck is this shit!?" Bellatrix hissed as she crumpled the letter and threw it away. "There's no way you're ever marrying that peacock!"

"Bella…" Narcissa sighed.

"I'll never let that idiot touch a hair on your head. You hear me?"

"Bella…" Narcissa tried again.

"You deserve Peverell. Yes. That's the one father should try for, not this inbred buffoon from some foreign peasant farm. You will write to father, Cissy. And you will tell him that you and Peverell have fallen for each other. Yes, that should work. Father will see that Peverell is better than that ponce in every reg—"

"Bella!" Narcissa called out loudly, cutting her twin off and giving her a soft smile when she looked over at her. "Thank you, but that is not necessary."

"What do you mean?" Bellatrix asked with a frown.

"Father's instructions are clear," Narcissa smiled sadly. "Our hands are tied here, Bella. I have no choice but to go along with it."

"You always have a choice!"

"Not in this case," Narcissa sighed with a small shake of her head. "Neither do I have a choice, and as per this letter, nor does father."

"You can't just let father emotionally blackmail you like that, Cissy!" Bellatrix retorted hotly.

"Doesn't mean he is wrong though," Narcissa sighed. "After what happened with Andi, father cannot afford another setback. You know how precarious our position in the House is. And it's not as if father could refuse Lord Malfoy."

"Like hell he couldn't!" Bellatrix hissed. "We are the Blacks! We bow to no one! Did you forget it all, Cissy?"

Narcissa smiled sadly at the girl and shook her head. "We are the Blacks, but only a cadet branch. We hold no power, Bella. We only share the name, nothing more. Father has no choice here, and once grandfather approves this, it will be final."

"Then I'll convince grandfather not to agree," Bellatrix replied.

"And in turn worsen our standing in the family," Narcissa sighed. "Why can't you realize we are in no position to make any demands of grandfather, Bella? The pride of the Blacks can never be brought down. After what happened with Andi, we won't be allowed any leeway. It's better to just agree with whatever comes and be done with it."

"Then I will deal with that ponce myself. No betrothal if there is no ponce, right?"

"You will do no such thing!" Narcissa said furiously as she stood up and glared at her twin, who returned the glare twofold. "Do you even listen to yourself, you idiot!? Murdering the heir of a pureblood house!? You will be sent to life in Azkaban for that! And don't even think that you could ever pull it off without implicating yourself."

Bellatrix gritted her teeth, seething and glaring at her twin as Narcissa sat on her bed with a sigh.

"Looks like you have a clear shot at Harry now, since I am out," Narcissa whispered with a chuckle.

"With an attitude like that, I'm sure you never deserved him in the first place," Bellatrix hissed. "We are twins. We were supposed to share him! But now I think it was always meant to be like this."

"Bella…" Narcissa whispered. Bellatrix ignored her.

"I don't care," her twin retorted. "The fact that you're going to just accept this without even trying shows that you're a coward."

Narcissa stared at her twin in profound sadness, who glared at her.

"You heard that right, Cissy. You won't even fight for what you want? I thought you were better than that!"

"I told you I can't—"

"Save your excuses."

Narcissa stared at her sister who ignored her and slid inside the covers of her bed.

'There's no way I'll let that swine put his hands on you,' Bellatrix thought furiously as she closed her eyes.

TBC.

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Chapters 14 to 31 of this fic are already up over there.

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