Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series.

Dancing

A violent clap of thunder and a streaking bolt of lightening filled the night sky. The windows rattled as the wind howled through a shadow filled bedroom. The room's only occupant was curled up in a ball on her bed with the covers drawn to her chin. The raging storm seemed deadly and liable to destroy her at any moment. She stifled a cry as another boom shook the walls of her room. Biting her lip, she squeezed her eyes shut so that she might block out the storm.

Don't be a baby, Narcissa, she commanded herself in a voice that was similar to her older sister's. It's just a storm. Rain, that's all it is.

But as the thunder grew louder and the lightening more radiant, she had trouble convincing herself that she wasn't in any danger.

Narcissa, you are too old to be afraid of a little-

But with a deafening crack-Narcissa thought the entire house might have split-her bravery was forgotten.

With a yelp, she leapt from her bed and hurried out of her bedroom. She scurried through the dark house, trembling as the storm raged on, until she reached the bedroom of her eldest sister. Quietly, her feet padded across the wood floor, creaking slightly as they did so. Her sister continued to sleep peacefully as Narcissa clung to the edge of the comforter, helplessly.

"Bella," she whispered, "Can I sleep with you?"

Her sister didn't reply.

Narcissa looked around the room as if hoping Bellatrix might wake up on her own accord as she stared. Narcissa had witnessed her sister's wrath at being awaken far too many times.

"Please," she whimpered.

The sound of a tree falling outside made up her mind for her. With a squeal, fearful that the tree would indeed fall into the house, Narcissa jumped onto the bed and burrowed underneath the covers. Her sister shifted over subconsciously. Narcissa peaked out of the sheets to look hopefully at Bellatrix. She scooted closer to her older sister, feeling safer by the second. Her arms looped around Bellatrix's, where Narcissa clung like a small koala bear.

"Hrmph," Bellatrix mumbled.

"Bella? Are you awake?"

Bellatrix jerked her arm in a futile attempt to relinquish Narcissa's persistent hold.

"Get off," she mumbled once more, though more distinctly this time.

"Can I sleep here? Just for tonight?" Narcissa asked, already making herself comfortable. She fidgeted a little before resting her head on her sister's pillow, Bellatrix's long curly hair tickling her face.

"Bella. I need more covers."

"Wha…" came the groggy response.

"I'm cold," Narcissa explained, tugging at the sheets, "and you're hogging all the covers!"

As Narcissa managed to pull the blankets away from her sister, Bellatrix finally stirred.

"Cissy! Give me back my covers!" she hissed angrily, "What are you doing here anyway?"

Narcissa relinquished her hold reluctantly as she fell in the path of danger.

"I couldn't sleep," she muttered, careful not to admit that she was afraid of a summer storm.

"So? Did you think that gave you a right to wake those of us who could?" Bellatrix demanded peevishly.

Narcissa winced noticeably as thunder rattled the windows. Bella rolled her eyes.

"Really, Cissy?" she sighed, "Why didn't you just sleep with Andy if it was just a thunderstorm keeping you awake."

"She was asleep… and she wouldn't wake up," Narcissa said feebly. They both knew the real reason, however. While Andromeda might have soothed her little sister, she could not dispel all fear. But Bellatrix could. Though she was not as gentle or motherly, she would protect her little sister with a fierce determination and strength.

Bellatrix grumbled a bit more before finally surrendering to the pathetic gaze her sister was implementing.

"Fine," she snapped. "But you'd better not snore."

Narcissa giggled. Distant and seemingly more innocent thunder rumbled. Though she felt much safer, Narcissa still inched even closer to Bellatrix.

Surprisingly, Bellatrix did not push Narcissa away but wrapped her arms around her like a human shield. Gently brushing the hair from her sister's face, Bellatrix asked, "Why are you so afraid of a little storm?"

Narcissa frowned. "It's not a little storm, Bella. It's awfully big!"

Bellatrix laughed softly. "Listen."

As she did so, Narcissa realized that the magnitude of the gale had subsided considerably since she was in the shelter of her sister's arms.

"See. It's not so big, is it?"

Narcissa smiled sheepishly up at her sister who couldn't help but smile in return. She made a noise of protest as Bella shrugged off the clutches of her little sister as she slid off the bed. Narcissa watched in horror as Bellatrix crept over to the window as if entranced by the storm. Without the reassuring embrace of her sister, the storm seemed far more dangerous. She stared over where her sister stood, gazing out the window almost longingly.

Of course Bella didn't feel endangered.

Narcissa thought it stupid to travel closer to the storm, but found her feet hitting the wooden floor as she hurried over to stand next to her sister. She followed Bella's stare into the darkness of their garden that was illuminated every so often by the flashing light.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Bellatrix murmured, an odd note rising in her voice.

"But it's dangerous, Bella."

Bellatrix didn't seem to hear the warnings of her little sister. Instead she busied herself with finding a robe and adorning it.

Narcissa gasped, "You can't go outside! I won't let you!"

Bellatrix smiled absentmindedly as she ruffled her sister's blond hair.

"Here, put this robe on," said Bellatrix as she handed Narcissa one of her own.

Narcissa did what she was told, blind with admiration at her sister's audacity.

The nature of their adventure, however, seemed to dawn on her as they left the safety of Bella's room.

Narcissa faltered on the stairs, clutching the railing desperately.

"Aren't you coming with me?" Bellatrix pouted.

"It scares me," Narcissa admitted in a whisper.

Bellatrix grabbed her sister's hand and pulled her down the steps. "Then you will find it all the more beautiful when you stop being a scaredycat."

Narcissa gave a little moan as her sister turned the handle of the door that was the portal into a dark nighttime.

Bellatrix stepped out into the rain as a triumphant mountain climber who had reached the peak. She threw her arms out and tilted her head back letting the rain splatter her until she was soaked in a matter of minutes.

"Come on, Cissy!" she laughed, spinning around to face her pale sister. "You won't melt, I promise!"

It was only her determination to not be seen as a baby in her sister's eyes that pushed Narcissa into the rain.

"I'm too young to die!" she sobbed as the rain fell down in torrents.

"Then make the most of your last few hours!" Bellatrix jeered playfully, mad with excitement. "Oh, don't just stand there like a wooden post, Narcissa."

The electric terror that had been running through the youngest Black melted away as Bellatrix grabbed her hand firmly.

"Run with me."

Narcissa felt a peculiar nervousness in her feet; so she ran.

The rain hit their faces with cutting stings, but the stinging sensation was only more encouragement to continue running. Puddles splashed under their feet and Narcissa noted how refreshing it was to dirty her clothes deliberately. Their robes flapped wildly behind them; they might have been flying for all Narcissa could gather. But she realized that their feet were still on the ground as her ribs began to ache from laughter, and from running. Finally Bella skirted to a stop.

They were in a meadow that Narcissa had visited only once or twice before. She would never venture so far from the house alone, but nothing ever seemed to stop her sister from doing the unspeakable. The sky was alight with dark blues, menacing grays, insane twirls of green, and mutinous purple tufts. The wind seemed to carry the whispers of a yesterday, a different expansion of time. Almost as if, in dancing in the field, one might stop time completely. There was a magic about the stormy night air. A magic that was different from that of the two young witches that stood, imploringly, in its wake.

"What now?" whispered Narcissa, afraid to break the spell.

"Nothing," Bellatrix answered with a smile directed at the sky. "We don't have to do anything. We just do whatever feels right."

There was only one possible thing to do in a setting so grand, so alive. They danced.

With elaborate twirls and leaps, they frolicked to the music of the raging thunder. Narcissa spun around Bella then reached for the sky, catching, as she did so, a few falling stars. Narcissa watched her sister eagerly. Every turn, twist, and hop, Narcissa tried to copy. They were shadows upon the damp wheat field. Dancing shadows, soaked to the skin, shivering slightly as they stopped, collapsing onto the soggy ground.

A wind blew over them coldly; Narcissa huddled next to her sister. A bolt of lightening cleaved the sky; Bella pulled Narcissa closer.

But Narcissa laughed. She had danced before the storm, paving the way for all its fury, she was no longer afraid. Not while she was with her sister, her Bella.

"I knew you weren't that big of a baby," Bella teased in an oddly gentle way, giving Narcissa's hand a squeeze.

Narcissa smirked.

She had danced in the face of danger.

She had done the impossible, because with Bellatrix, anything was possible.

Author's Note: With any luck, I'll update the story at least once a week throughout my school year. (Something to keep my mind occupied with during History of Magic) The stories will not be in any particular order and will vary in length. Andromeda will be a very present character; this chapter just couldn't include her without losing a certain quality. I am certainly open to requests for scenes you'd like to read in the future. As always, reviews are appreciated!