A thick blanket of snow covered the English countryside, and the windows of the Hogwarts Express were continually pelted with fluffy, white, flakes of snow. It was certainly coming down out there, and just in time for the Christmas holidays. Inside one compartment in particular, where the windows were uniformly frosted over, Narcissa Black sat by herself, legs outstretched and crossed at the ankle with a book in her lap. The train was mostly void of other seventh year's and the pale Slytherin felt a bit silly to be traveling home this way, but the ride was tolerate and she was looking forward to seeing her family when the train finally arrived at King's Cross station. Being the youngest of the Black sisters, most a good deal of her family had already graduated and moved onto bigger things, on top that, she was without Lucius Malfoy as well. Seventh year, thus far, had been particularly dull.
Breathing a bemused sigh into the cool air of the compartment, Narcissa turned the page of the text book in her lap. With a good deal of her friends already away on holiday, studying was one of the few things that she could do to occupy her mind during the ride. Now that NEWTs were coming up at the end of the year, Narcissa felt that she could do well to brush up on her weaker subjects. She had never been one to try all that hard when it came to school, although she was gifted in a few subjects with the help from her older sisters, Bellatrix and Andromeda. Then there was Lucius who had let her dabble in the dark arts for fun. She hadn't taken a liking to it the way he had, but she saw his (and Bellatrix's) habit as nothing more than a passing interest.
The train rolled on, its pace steady as it chugged toward London. Narcissa was looking forward to being home, wanting to see her mother and father, but most of all, Andromeda. She had always been closer to her rather than Bellatrix, the oldest. Andromeda was kind and caring, easy to talk to, and now that she was out on her own, worldly. The blonde girl was envious of her older sister and was more than curious about what life was like outside of their overbearing parents and the strictness of Hogwarts. She hoped that by the time she arrived home, Andromeda would already be there. From the other girl's last few letters, it seemed like she would have much to talk about.
In just a few hours time, the train had finished its journey and come to a stop at platform 9 ¾. As the younger students raced past her compartment, ready to be the first ones off of the train, Narcissa took her time to gather her luggage and put on her soft, fur coat. She checked her hair and lipstick in a small compact mirror before making her way out of the train and onto the platform. She was immediately greeted by a house elf whom she paid no mind as the dainty creature struggled with her heavy trunk. Instead, she beamed as she caught sight of her mother, Druella, and made her way through the crowd to give her a peck on the cheek.
“Mummy,” she greeted the older, regal, woman with a smile, “you're here already. I'm surprised.” Normally, Narcissa would have had to wait.
The two talked as they waited for the house elf, all smiles and hand gestures as they spoke about the upcoming holiday and the party over at Auntie Walburga's on Grimmauld Place. Narcissa didn't know whether the entire family would be invited, or if Sirius was still planning on being an embarrassment with that Potter boy. At the very least, it would be a chance to formally introduce Lucius to the rest of the adults in the family, and an opportunity to meet Rodolphus, Bella's new husband. Narcissa didn't know much about the man besides a few rumored whispers that he was involved with that Voldemort fellow and his fanatical ideals.
After apparating back home, Narcissa reacquainted herself with her father and did some more gossiping with her mother before showing herself to her bedroom. The house was entirely too quiet without her sisters running around and squabbling with one another. Druella had promised that would change within the hour, though, as Andromeda was set to return any moment. The blonde Slytherin was more excited than she cared to let on and could barely keep herself still as she attempted to study a bit more across the top of her plush bed. Her eyes constantly drifted to the clock on the bedside table, and Narcissa was counting down the minutes until her favorite sister arrived.
She had very nearly missed the faint popping sound that came from the kitchen, but she knew what it meant. Closing her occlumency book, Narcissa stood from her bed and smoothed down her green dress before stepping out of her room and into the hallway. She listened closely for voices, partially leaned over the railing of the second floor. The voice of Druella was distinct, as was the tittering of the house elf who must have been dealing with luggage and coats. A cat-like smile spread across the pretty seventh year's lips and she quickly took to the stairs, trying to remain lady-like as she bounded down them two at a time.
“Is that her?” she called, sauntering through the sitting room, “is that Dromeda? Is she here?” Her voice was excited, and her eyes lit up as she caught sight of her older sister in the kitchen. She squealed loudly, causing her mother to frown, but Narcissa paid no mind as she ran over to wrap her arms around the dark-haired girl. They were a very proud family, but Narcissa cared very little for tradition when it came to seeing someone she loved.
After a long and possibly too tight hug, Narcissa pulled away. “Finally,” she breathed a laugh, “how long does it take to apparate? I've been here a full hour already and bored out of my mind without you,” she complained.
