I love this. The characterizations are wonderful, the prose delightful, and the Black family politics spot-on. The way these aristocratic wizards and witches dance around each other with their pleasantries and courtesy gives an exciting, dangerous mood to this piece, despite the fact that no one's getting killed or injured.

Narcissa's transformation is beautifully done. You've perfectly captured the confusion of love and hate and family ties that shaped Narcissa Black into Narcissa Malfoy, the end result that we see in the books.

-Fantasy

P.S. There's one tiny detail that got me: "Barely, she thought, but only because he'd mentioned it." It seems to me that the "but" in that sentence should signify an opposition to the "barely" - yet this isn't the case. I think it would make more sense for you to say "and" rather than "but". Do you see what I'm saying?

This is gorgeous, absolutely marvellous. A wonderful look at the character of Narcissa and how she changes over time. Thanks for it ;)

Wow. That was so. . . amazing. You captured Narcissa perfectly, and I do feel sorry for her. Her running into Andromeda was wonderful, especially the explanation for Draco's name. It was utterly fantastic.

Gah. I am such a coward. I can't believe I never reviewed this story before. Had it on my favorites forever, but no.

I've always loved the Black family, and Narcissa is so easy to overlook or write off as "the stuck-up one" and it's so refreshing to see a different take on her character.

There's something unbearably tragic about the sisters, and you captured this beautifully. The way Narcissa changes into the person she is now is amazingly done.

This is truly a work of art.

So cool. loved it. I'm sad about Narcissa though. She's such a bitch.

A sad tale, though I hope someday Andromeda and Narcissa will reconcile. Maybe Andromeda was comforted by the knowledge of Draco's name...

Utterly amazing! Really, literally, I am speechless. Floored. Amazed. Flabbergasted.

And "flabbergasted" is one hell of a fun word.

This story is just so wonderful, so brilliant, and so truthful! I've recently become obsessed with Narcissa Malfoy - especially anything to do with the relationship between her and Sirius. To me, for some reason, it's just so fascinating. As a matter of fact, I recently wrote a one-shot detailing different aspects of their relationship, and I touched on several of the same ideas and themes that you wrote about here.

However, yours is just so ... there isn't even a word brilliant or flattering enough to describe it. I know I sound repetitive, but it really is wonderful. It makes me want to stay up for the rest of the night writing about Narcissa and Sirius until I fall asleep at my keyboard.

I just went back and looked for a flaw, by the way. Just one. Maybe two. But I couldn't find ANY. And your detail, imagery, everything, is so unbelievably advanced that I feel like I need to take English Lit all over again just to catch up. I love love love love it. Obviously.

Now, this may be getting slightly long-winded and off topic, but I've just consumed severe amounts of caffeine, so bear with me. It's so hard to find well-written pieces about the minor characters, you know? Especially ones like Narcissa. That's why it's so refreshing to find one-shots like this one. Even though Narcissa is basically a complete bitch (excuse the language) I feel sorry for her. She can't help how she is, you know? A complete product of her environment. And you've captured her family's imprisonment and delusional prejudices perfectly.

So ... er ... yes. I believe I've rambled on and bored you long enough. So yes. Excellent, astounding work, as I've said. And THANK YOU for writing it! Thank you thank you thank you. I've been writing a long SiriusNarcissa fic on and off for the past year, and you've inspired me to get back to work on it.

Thanks again, wonderful piece, and now I'm off to add it to my favorites! :-) Happy writing!

*starts crying* I am so tired of bawling over fan fics tonight! It was so so great! I hate Narcissa for being mean to Andromeda but I can't hate her! I'm rambing so I'll shut up now.

I liked it. The way she changes through the story is very well done.

Wow, this was utterly amazing. I love how you work with Narcissa's character. The dialogue and emotions are superbly written. The meeting with Andromeda was just about heart breaking, and the letter written afterward perfectly sums up the atmosphere of the world in which Narcissa lives. The pacing and mood are wondefully done. I am in awe.