Title: Spirit Guide
Rating: T
Pairing(s)/Character(s): Rodolphus/Narcissa
Warnings: None
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em - not making any money off 'em. Dern it.
Word Count: 1,215
Summary: Narcissa has a secret.

Notes:

Greek Mythology Category Competition: Hades - Write about death.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: Myths and Legends - Task 1 - Write about someone blessed with the gift of communicating with the dead. This must extend past ghosts that are visible to all witches and wizards.

Last Ship Sailing Competition: Spell: Nox / Quote: "I'm not looking for someone who can save me. Life rafts might keep you afloat, but they rarely get you anywhere, and I've got places I wanna go."-Andrea Gibson / Emotion: nervous / Word: childish / Dialogue: "I thought you weren't going to mention that again." : Bonus Prompts - Spell: Stupefy / Dialogue: "I just want to know one thing." / Object: hat / Word: illuminated

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry: [Writing Club!] The Word Prompt Express - Prompt Used – 305. Father

Narcissa looked around the Room of Requirements. It wasn't the ideal place to do this, but at least it gave her a little bit of privacy.

She sighed, once again wishing someone other than her father knew about her gift. Her father might call her childish for it, but Narcissa thought her wanting to share the truth with someone was a basic human desire and nothing to be ashamed of.

Still, her father was resolute that no one should know the truth, fearful of what the top Ministry officials would do to her if they discovered what Narcissa was able to do.

For this to work, the majority of the room had to be dark with only a little bit of light on the object being used as an anchor.

First, Narcissa placed the found hat on the ground in front of her. She patted it, smoothing the fabric. She then took her out wand and murmured, "Lumos." Once the tip of her wand was lit up, she placed the wand on the ground and pointed it at the hat so the object was the sole thing illuminated.

She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to roam freely. And then she heard it—the spirit connected to the hat.

'Hello,' the mellow voice spoke inside of Narcissa's head.

"Hello," Narcissa spoke out loud, patiently waiting to find out what she had to do for this particular spirit.

'You came,' the mellow voice sounded joyous, but there was also a touch of disbelief in it.

Narcissa wouldn't be surprised if this spirit had tried reaching out before but had always been ignored. "Yes, I felt a pull to your hat. And I've learned to always follow the pull. No matter what. What can I do for you?"

'I was wondering if I would ever be able to get in touch with someone that had your gift. I had begun to lose hope.' Now the voice sounded morose.

"You need help to move on?" Narcissa prodded.

Sometimes spirits couldn't move onto the afterlife, but at the same time, they weren't strong enough to become ghosts that everyone could see. That's where people like Narcissa, ones that could communicate with bodiless spirits, came in. They did what they had to in order to help the spirit move on. They were rare and considered valuable. That was why her father was so worried about people finding out about Narcissa.

'Yes, please. My descendants have become very poor, and there's no reason they should be. I invested when I was alive, but somehow, it got lost. If those investments become known, my line won't have to worry about money for a very long time.'

Narcissa nodded to herself. That seemed simple enough. "I can help. Do you know where all of the paperwork is?"

The voice wasn't happy. 'I'm not sure. It had been at Gringotts, but I don't understand how the goblins could have lost it. I think someone might have taken it out for some reason, and then it was forgotten about.'

Not as simple as Narcissa thought. She would have to do some research. "I'll do my best, but if I have to actually find it, I'm not sure how long it will take."

'Until I know my line will be okay, I can't move on. Please, help.'

"What's the name?"

'Quintin Weasley.'

Before Narcissa could truly digest the fact that the Weasleys were poor because of a mistake, the door of the Room of Requirements flew open.

She grabbed her wand, quickly muttering, "Nox." In the shadow of darkness, she grabbed the hat and stuffed it in her robe.

A light went on and Narcissa looked into the amused eyes of Rodolphus Lestrange. "What are you doing here, Cissa?"

"Nothing," Narcissa replied as she stood up, holding the wand in a tight fist.

He arched an eyebrow. "It doesn't look like nothing."

"I have to go," she muttered, trying to walk around him.

Rodolphus was faster and grabbed her wrist. "What's wrong?"

"Let go of me," she ordered warningly.

"No," he returned stubbornly.

She didn't want to do this. After all, he was going to be her husband one day, but Rodolphus left her no choice. She pointed her wand at him and uttered, "Stupefy."

She cushioned his fall but left him there. She knew when he woke up and found her—if he remembered everything—she would have a lot to answer for. At least now she had some time to get together a believable story about why she was in the Room of Requirements.

It was only a couple of hours before Rodolphus sought her out. She wasn't surprised. Rodolphus was a persistent wizard.

They didn't engage in any pleasantries before Rodolphus asked, "What were you doing?'

Narcissa had come to a decision. She and Rodolphus were going to be married and whether her father liked it or not, she was going to tell him. There shouldn't be any secrets between husbands and wives. "I don't know how to tell you," she admitted nervously.

"Just tell me," he urged.

"Remember how you told me that you sometimes hated being a big brother, that you hated the responsibility of always having to look after Rabastan and help him?"

"I thought you weren't going to mention that again," Rodolphus admonished.

Her lips twisted in a wry smile at the ashamed tone Rodolphus had adopted. He wasn't proud of himself for feeling like that sometimes, and he never wanted Rabastan to overhear and know the truth.

"Well, I brought it up because I'm something I wish I wasn't, and that something has to help others, and I loathe the responsibility of it all."

Rodolphus took her hand. "You can trust me. You know you can."

"I just want to know one thing. No matter what I tell you, you won't see me differently, right?"

He nodded and squeezed her hand.

"I'm a spirit guide." It wasn't the technical term, but everyone knew what being a spirit guide meant. They knew what the special gift was and what they did with that special gift.

He opened his mouth, and it snapped shut again.

Narcissa continued, "I'm not looking for someone who can save me. I don't need you to save me, but I didn't think you should be kept in dark about a huge part of my life. I have things that I need to do sometimes, and it will be easier if I don't have to be secretive about my comings and goings."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Only my father, and I will be shouted at for daring to tell anyone, but I'll deal with it."

Rodolphus looked into her eyes. "If you need help with anything—"

"Does your help extend to tedious research?" she asked, her Slytherin side coming into play. Maybe she could use him in trying to locate the missing papers for the Weasleys.

He grimaced; he hated research and she knew it. She also knew that he wouldn't allow himself to retract his offer for help. He sighed in defeat. "Anything."

She smiled, leaning towards him and kissing him lightly on the cheek. "Thank you." And then she proceeded to tell all about Quintin Weasley and what needed to be done.