Narcissa Malfoy sees what you did there. (vainglorious) wrote in find_horcruxes, @ 2009-09-08 11:32:00 |
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Entry tags: | celeste lestrange, narcissa malfoy |
RP Log: Celeste Lestrange & Narcissa Malfoy
Who: Celeste Lestrange & Narcissa Malfoy
When: Tuesday evening, 1st September 1979
Where: Malfoy Manor
What: Celeste and Narcissa fret and bond over their fears. Dobby makes an appearance.
Rating: PG
With her feet propped up on the cushions, Celeste lay on the fainting couch in Narcissa's sitting room, staring up at the patterned plaster ceiling through a coloured piece of glass that once used to be a part of a vase, most likely. She had picked it up on her way inside a few hours earlier when she had arrived at the Malfoy manor, and quietly wondered now if her discovery was significant in some way, or if there was a metaphor attached to her find. She had the luxury of these thoughts as she had pushed aside her exchange with her brother and sister-in-law in the aftermath of the attack on King's Cross station and had decided to spend the night at Narcissa's home. It was quieter here, but not for the lack of negative emotions. Finally, she sighed and brought down her hand heavily by her side to fall on the cushions. "I hate it!" she exclaimed after a few seconds, her eyebrows knit with anger. "Am I not even allowed to ask, now? Despicable." Primly perched in a chair, Narcissa cocked an eyebrow at Celeste. The young woman was quite the picture spread out delicately, and Narcissa couldn't help but smile. They had much in common than Narcissa had ever had with her own siblings. It seemed, honestly, that fate had intervened and given Narcissa the sort of friend and family member (albeit she disliked the label 'her brother-in-law's sister') she'd always wanted. "Celeste, darling, I know that it's not what you want, but believe me when I say that not knowing, in this case, is infinitely more comfortable," Narcissa said, though not unkindly. "I know that it's not what you wanted to hear, but it's the best that I can offer." It should have been consoling to know that she wasn't alone, but with everything that had happened in the past eighteen hours, it was rather depressing. And of course, there was a strain of unspoken wisdom in Narcissa's words that Celeste accepted without refutation, verbal or physical. It was rare for the young woman to be so still and settle so firmly in another's company, and it was only Narcissa who could dull the edges off of her without saying or even doing much. She was, Celeste had often imagined, a reliable confidant and ally, specially when the men in the family just didn't understand or when she needed to escape her mother's continuous familial machinations. So she had come to seek solace in Narcissa's company, a woman who was as intelligent as she was elegant. "Doesn't it bother you, though, Cissa?" she asked as she curled her fist around the little distraction in her hand and flipped over in the couch to face her friend. "I haven't seen Lucius yet but I snuck a look at Regulus. He looks absolutely drained. And trust me, I don't want to question our families' allegiance to the Dark Lord but..." Her voice grew lower in timber and then was completely silenced. She eyed Narcissa with a mix of curiosity and apprehension, wondering if she had taken the thought too far. "- I just worry. And worrying makes me angry, as I am, now." Oh thank Merlin that someone else was thinking the very same thing she had been thinking. Narcissa's entire family was deeply embedded into the Dark Lord's plans, and she was well aware that any attempt to extract themselves would set off all sorts of alarms. And Bellatrix... Her eldest -- only -- sister was so firmly entrenched in the Cause that there was no talking to her. Given her family's history of "killing" off relatives who disagreed, Narcissa felt stuck. With a more bitter laugh than she'd intended, Narcissa lowered her own voice to match Celeste's. "I've been the wife of a Death Eater for six years now. Every time he leaves this house, I worry that he is not coming back. And Regulus... you know how strongly I feel for my cousin. He's just a boy. He shouldn't -- " It wasn't her place to question these things. She had been the backbone of the family for so long, strong and straight and silent that voicing any of her opinions outside of a warded journal entry had become so difficult it was impossible. "What can we do, Celeste? I fear that we're... stuck." "A very clever boy!" she offered immediately out of her loyalty to her childhood friend. It was ridiculous to imagine the same lively and active young man lulled to sleep by sheer exhaustion and something much sinister now, a few rooms away. As she rested her chin on an upturned palm and crossed her legs, the frown on her face was clearly pronounced. "But yes, still a boy." Narcissa's concern was undeniable and overwhelming. None of their collective family members chose to display their feelings in times like these, and to hear her words now was to grasp at some solace that she wryly thought had been denied to her by her brother's cut and dry responses earlier in the day, and by her younger brother's complete lack of communication (an altogether infuriating practice for a list of reasons). She took a few moments to study Narcissa's face before she exhaled loudly. "You're braver than a lot of people give you credit for," she declared. "Sometimes I think it is a mercy Father has kept me from...following in my brothers' footsteps." "Merlin, no. I'm not brave, Celeste," Narcissa replied, and to her credit, she was never one to be falsely modest. "If I were braver, I'd be able to talk about my politics in public. As it is, I have to clean up after Bellatrix and make excuses for Lucius's and Regulus's whereabouts. That doesn't take any courage, just a bunch of lying." Which, Narcissa was excellent at. "It's a very good thing that you have two brothers, Celeste. It's very nasty work for a lady, and you are most certainly a lady." The smile on Celeste's face was almost beatific in its eager intensity. While she knew full well she would never truly measure up to her mother's ideal of a true lady, she appreciated the term when uttered by Narcissa, because there was much more left to interpretation - blanks she could fill herself and not feel constricted. "Even so," she said fondly, "you keep your wits about you and that's more than anyone could ask for in times like these." Punching a cushion lightly, she spent a silent stretch adjusting herself on the couch she currently occupied and considered the family members mentioned, remembering the passionate look her sister-in-law wore on her handsome face after a good ride, and how easily it could devolve into a something much darker. Lucius was ice through and through, and Regulus had his moments - what would it all mean in the long run, she thought, and then thought no more as she looked intently at Narcissa again. "May I have something to eat?" she asked suddenly, with a familarity that suggested ease, finally. "Something greasy, preferably, that I'll regret having later. But yes, I do agree about certain things, and the others can be discussed when we are in better spirits. You must tell me about this whole business with Olivia Wilkes." "Darling, today is all about doing things we'll regret later," Narcissa answered cryptically, and not without a little bit of irony. She pulled her wand from her robes and tapped it on the arm of her chair. "I'll get you something in a hurry." The door to the sitting room creaked opened. A pair of buggy eyes and a long pointed nose nervously entered, shoulders cowled and gaze on the floor. "What can Dobby do for Mistress?" "Our guest would like something sinful to eat. Perhaps..." Narcissa glanced to Celeste for confirmation. "Goodness, it's been so long since I've had anything greasy that I haven't the faintest idea what's good any-more. Fish and chips? Bangers and mash? Shepherd's pie? I'll take one of the bottles of Ogden's in the cellar, and not from this century." She gave the elf a pointed look, and in return, he cringed away from her. "Make sure it's all under the pretence of tea. I'll not have Lucius know that I've been drinking." "All of that and banoffee pie as well," Celeste chimed in with a cursory glance at the house elf before she turned on her side, sinking deeper into the cushions and sealing in the fact that she was staying there for the night. Dobby only waited long enough for Narcissa's dismissive hand gesture before he backed out of the room in a hurry. When the house elf was gone, Narcissa leaned back in her chair, getting more comfortable, though never losing her consciousness of being in front of a crowd. "I've had Dobby prepare a room for you -- your usual, of course -- with all the creature comforts you would ever need," she said, hoping that the conversation had steered completely away from what Narcissa knew or did not know about earlier that day. When the house elf returned, she'd slip away for a moment to check on her charge, but until then, she kept her attention focused on her guest. "As for Olivia Wilkes' visit, it was simply a matter of her wanting to advance her sister into the ranks of the Blacks. I won't allow that to happen, not with the scandal they've had. I get the impression that the young Miss Wilkes intends to climb a career ladder with hard work." The time it took for Narcissa to move in and out of the room, and for the house elf to bring in the food, Celeste used it for arranging her earlier find on the low coffee table along with a few precious trinkets Lucius had no doubt brought home from abroad as gifts for his wife. It felt oddly fitting in the context of what Narcissa informed her next, and all the while the older woman spoke, Celeste's eyes never left the little pile of immensely striking things that she had set around the shard of glass. Was this Chloe, then? She stopped herself from allowing emotions to flood through her senses. "Is that what it was all about? I never thought Chloe had any feelings for our Regulus, even though they are tremendously good friends." Her voice was now edged with a kind of formal practicality that she needed to maintain on this rather precarious topic. She didn't wish to speak on behalf of either Regulus or the younger Wilkes sister, but cumulative emotion for both seemingly negated each other so that she was left with her own bias. "It's almost a laughable notion, really. Regulus' mother would never allow it to happen. I've heard her talking long enough to know this for sure." "I simply don't understand why in Merlin's name she would think that some sort of official anything would be drawn between them. By all means, Regulus should sew his wild oats with the girl if he chose to, but..." Narcissa leaned in a little closer, as if they hadn't been talking about the day's dealings. "Chloe disagrees with Regulus's politics. They haven't spoken since she found out, and I'd like to keep it that way." "...of course it all makes sense now!" Celeste muttered in return, shifting forward to match Narcissa's stance as she talked. "Chloe was incredibly cryptic over the journals and Regulus...well, you know how he gets when he is trying to keep up a stern front. I'll keep this in mind when I next meet her, which is likely to be soon." She did not have a plan of action or way forward decided in this matter, but at least the explanation solved an infinitesimal part of the mystery surrounding her two friends. Rather than being relieved, she found herself irked to a point where she wanted to confront Chloe with what she had been keeping from her, and decided that she will when she talked to her next. As far as discussing this with Regulus was concerned, she could only exhale loudly and busy herself with doling out a portion of food into a plate for herself. "At this point I only want this night to pass, for him to be fine and for us to be ten pounds weightier, come morning. Thank you for having me, Narcissa." |