Author's Note: An update? =O Sorry it's taken me so long. Thank you to Az for beta-reading this.

Would you all mind dropping a little review? Just so I know you're still reading. Thank you. =]

Chapter Ten: Love (Or Something Like It)

I stepped from the fireplace at the Ministry of Magic and into the hustle-bustle of our wizarding headquarters. I made my way to the lift, which would bring me to the exact department – and person – I was looking for.

"Level five, please," I said politely, offering the lift waiter a small smile. He stared blankly at me and I spun around, rolling my eyes.

We waited until the lift was filled with others that were headed to level five (Department of International Magical Cooperation) and then began our journey. When the lift stopped, everyone stepped from it and went to their designated areas. I walked up to the head secretary's desk. She looked up at me with a smile.

"Can I help you?" she asked, blinking her green eyes.

"Yes," I said shortly, already not liking this girl. "I need to see Rodolphus Lestrange."

She nodded and stood up. "Name?" she asked.

I swallowed. What if the entire department knew? I gnawed on my lip for a moment, but then realized that that probably caused me to look suspicious. "Narcissa Black," I replied.

She nodded once more and turned around, gesturing for me to follow. I followed her down the hallway, to the second door. She knocked and I heard a gruff response. She opened the door and poked her head inside. Then she slipped into the room, leaving the door open just a crack so that I was able to hear everything.

"Narcissa Black is here to see you, Rodolphus," she said. There was silence, then a groan and what I took as a dismissal. But I would not back down. The secretary poked her head out and frowned. "He's a bit busy right now – "

"Nonsense!" I argued and she winced. But she didn't look like she was about to argue with me. So I stepped up to the door and shoved it open. The secretary moved out of the way. Rodolphus looked up at me sharply.

"Narcissa, honestly," he sighed, "I have things to do. Can't we talk another time? Not that you've ever had much interest talking with me in the first place – "

"I do when it involves my sister!" I told him, my voice loud.

He took a pained expression and then waved the secretary out of the room. "Never mind, Eloise. It's fine; go on," he said hastily. I heard the door click shut behind me, but kept my attention on the man in front of me. He leaned back in his chair and then waved towards one in front of his desk. "Have a seat, Cissy."

"Don't be coy with me," I snapped as I marched up to his desk. I sat down and glared at him.

"It might only be July, but I think it's time to turn the heat on," he said dryly. "It suddenly got very cold in here."

"You broke her!" I shouted, jumping to my feet. "She's having your child and you're leaving her? Her heart is literally breaking, Rodolphus. What don't you understand about that? She loves you. She probably loves you more than anything in the world! And I'll be damned if someone else marries her... someone that doesn't love her like you do. Did you know that our father is searching for a husband for her? To help raise your child? Do you – "

"You don't understand this situation, Narcissa," Rodolphus said icily, standing up.

I continued to glare at him. "Then explain it to me," I replied. "I won't leave until you do. This is my family we're discussing."

He seemed hesitant and regarded me. He was silent for a while, but then finally broke. "Bellatrix has been pregnant for two months – two months! She was planning on aborting the baby without even letting me have a say in the matter. I didn't even know that she was pregnant. She was going to kill a child we'd made together – and not even tell me! How do you think that made me feel?" He stopped and looked down at his desk, shaking his head. Then he looked back up at me. "I love your sister, I really do. But if she was going to keep something like that from me, what else might she hide? What else is she keeping from me now? What if the baby isn't mine? What if – "

Maybe it was because I'd called my sister a whore earlier and regretted it, but to hear it coming from someone else enraged me. "Don't you dare accuse Bella of being a whore!" I yelled. "She's only been sleeping with you – only you – for the past year and half! Trust me... I know." I looked away as I said that, embarrassed. But I wanted him to hear me out: that Bella loved him and needed him. They needed to become a family. If not for themselves, then for the baby. A child needed both a mother and a father to raise it.

There was more silence and I slid my eyes back to look up at Rodolphus. He was staring down at his desk, leaning on it with his hands; his hair fell forward so I couldn't see his face.

"She's crying, Rod," I said gently. "Bella doesn't cry... ever; especially not over a guy. She needs you... she wants you. If she's going to keep the baby now, doesn't that make it better? Why have some other man, who'll be a loser compared to you, raise your son? Or daughter... It doesn't make sense to me." I paused, allowing him to speak, but he never did, so I added: "Don't keep yourself from happiness because you want my sister to suffer." He didn't respond right away.

"I've always wanted a daughter," he said, laughing a bit. Then he looked up at me and I saw his tears, but he was smiling. "I love her so much, Cissy. I've loved her since the day I first saw her. And I could kill Rookwood for hurting her like he did... I still want to. It took me so much to undo the damage he'd done to her." He straightened and ran a hand through his brown hair. "I just lost it last night…. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. And then I remembered all the men she'd been with and how she cheated on Rookwood with me and I panicked. I thought that maybe it wasn't mine; maybe she loved another man... so I walked out of the restaurant. And got pissed at The Leaky Cauldron."

I smiled and then giggled at the image in my head of a drunk Rodolphus. I composed myself and shook my head. "She only loves you," I assured him. Then I gave him a pleading look. "Please, don't take too long to go after her. She'll harden to it soon and then you won't have a chance."

Rodolphus sat back down in his chair. He exhaled loudly and looked down at his hands in his lap. "Narcissa," he said and I bit the inside of my cheek. "This isn't an easy decision. But Bella hurt me and I don't want to marry her just because of the baby. I want to marry her because I love her – "

"Which you do!" I urged, my voice mixed between excitement and nervousness.

He looked up at me. "Which I do," he repeated slowly, "but I want to know that she loves me as well." He held up his hand when I opened my mouth and I quickly clammed my mouth shut. "And not just because I'm not in her life anymore and she'll be left with a child that's perhaps fatherless. I mean, of course, I would give her money monthly since the child is mine, but – "

"Money won't fix her," I mumbled, not caring whether or not he heard. I looked down at the floor, realizing that my trip here had been a failure. There was no changing his mind; he was going to leave Bella and his child behind and unhappy. Before I could hear him say the words, I said, "I have to go now, Rodolphus. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me."

Then I turned and left his office, feeling utterly defeated. Bella would never forgive me.

oooOOOooo

When I arrived back to the manor, my stomach growled. I tried to ignore the hungry feeling in my stomach, but it was intense. However, after an obviously unsuccessful day, I would not eat. It was a small price to pay for my actions.

I walked over to the bookshelf in my room and picked out a random book. I glanced briefly at the cover. It was Sense & Sensibility. I gave the book a faint smile and then walked over to my bed. I sat down, kicked off my shoes and then curled up on my bed with the book.

I had only read a few pages when I heard a loud knock coming from down the hallway. Then I heard my father calling out for Bella. I slipped from my bed, my book still in hand, and crept to my door. I opened it slightly and peered outside.

"...here to see you," my father was saying. He looked torn between happiness and resentment. I narrowed my eyes. Bella murmured something I couldn't hear and then my father spoke again. "Bellatrix, come downstairs. Stop fighting with me."

"Are you going to tell me who it is?" Bella snapped at our father as she stepped from her room in her nightclothes.

My father stopped and looked at her clothing. "Won't you change?" he asked.

"If I go back into my room, I'm not coming back out."

Then my father nodded. "Very well," he said. "I suppose it doesn't matter much anyway..." They walked down the hallway and around the corner.

I stepped out into the hallway at the same time as Andy. She beckoned me to hurry and I dashed down to her. She linked arms with me and we rounded the corner to the stairs. Bella and Daddy were just reaching the last step. Bella stopped short, staring ahead. I sat down with Andy on the top step, my book in my lap, and Rodolphus came into view.

"I hate you," Bella hissed from across the room. Then she was running across the foyer towards him. I thought she was going to go after him, but instead she flung her arms around his neck and he caught her in his arms, lifting her up off the ground slightly. "I hate you!"

Rodolphus smirked as he hugged her close to his body. He ran his hand over her hair and gripped her even more tightly. He whispered into her ear and kissed the side of her head, over and over. I smiled to myself, clutching the book in my hands. Seeing my sister so happy made my heart flutter with excitement. I was surprised that Rodolphus had come and even more surprised that Bella had taken him back, but it was good; it was a very good thing.

Eventually, they exited the house through the front door. I sat in silence with Andy, still staring down the stairs.

"Let's go celebrate," my sister said beside me. She stood up and I looked up at her. She smiled gently and held out her hand to me. I debated, wondering what she had in store, but then grabbed her hand. She helped me up and we walked down the stairs.

"Don't you want to be in love like that someday, Cissy?" Andy chatted happily as we walked into the dining room. There was a door in the room that led down to the kitchen, which was in the basement of the house. We normally didn't go down to the kitchen, as the house elves lived down there as well.

I looked over at Andy as we stopped at the door. I shrugged. "It makes me glad to see that Bella is happy," I decided. "But..."

"But what?" Andy chirped. We walked down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Nothing. Yes, I suppose it would be nice," I quickly agreed so she wouldn't pester me. I waited awkwardly by the stairs as Andy comfortably moved around the kitchen, shooing the house elves away when they tried to help. Then it occurred to me that Andy wasn't seeing anyone, so I didn't quite understand why she was asking me about love.

Andy grabbed two cupcakes from the refrigerator and then levitated two glasses towards her. She filled them with milk, closed the door and headed back to me, the glasses following her. She smiled upon reaching me, handing me a cupcake. I did my best to smile and keep the disapproving look from reaching my face. I gently took the food and then reached behind my sister to grab my glass of milk. We headed back up the stairs.

"Do you love anyone?" I asked when we had sat down in the chairs at the dining room table. I peeled slowly at the cupcake wrapping and stared at my sister. Out of the corner of my eye, I was aware of the bright pink frosting and multi-colored sprinkles.

A shadow washed over her face, but then she quickly smiled. She shook her head. "Not yet," she replied, though it seemed forced. Of course, she probably only discussed these things with Bella. I was the baby sister; the one whose hair got pulled, the one who got pushed, the one who was left in her hiding spot during a game of Hide-n-Seek because Bella had been it, found Andy and then they had taken off, forgetting about me. "But I have my dream man picked out." She grinned.

I giggled. I almost brought the cupcake to my mouth, but quickly caught myself. "Tell me about him," I urged, placing the cupcake down on the table. I grabbed my glass of milk instead and took a small sip.

"No!" Andy laughed, shaking her head. "If I tell you, when he comes along, you might steal him for yourself." She continued to laugh and it gave me an excuse, so I laughed along with her.

"It's good to hear my girls laughing again."

We looked over to the entrance of the dining hall and saw our father standing there. He was smiling at us. Our laughter slowly died and we stared at him, grinning widely. He stepped into the room and walked up to us. He dropped his head to kiss my cheek and then did the same with Andy. Then he took his seat at the head of the table. Andy turned around to face him.

"Papa, can we please host our own ball?" she asked suddenly. "Please. It's been too long!"

My father stared at her steadily, but then averted his gaze to look at me. "Narcissa," he said, "what do you say about it?"

He had taken me off guard. I blinked at him several times, my lips parted slightly. I looked at my sister, who was staring at me with a pleading look. Then I looked back at my father. "I... well, I... I mean," I stammered. Get a hold of yourself! I took a deep breath. "I suppose it's not a bad idea, Daddy. I mean, it has been a while, but I'm not sure anyone really expects us to host another ball..." I let my voice trail off and I looked down at the table.

"Oh, Papa, don't listen to Cissy's doubts," Andy urged. I snapped my head up at her, glaring. But she was looking at our father.

He glanced at me, smirked, and then looked back at Andy. He leaned back in his chair. "It would help me find suitable husbands for you two if we held a ball," he decided with a playful grin. "Now that Bella is out of the way..."

"Daddy!" I screeched.

"Papa!" Andy hollered at the same time. "You promised that you wouldn't meddle in the affairs of our hearts! You can't go back on your word now!" She seemed very upset and anxious. However, she was correct; he'd promised long ago (to our mother) that he wouldn't set us up with husbands; unless it proved that (by twenty-five) we hadn't married yet. He had agreed to let us find love ourselves, which wasn't exactly the conventional thing to do among purebloods.

His first engagement had been to a pureblood from Russia, the most predominant pureblooded family in that country. By chance, our mother had been invited to his engagement party. My father had never taken much notice of her because he was three years her senior; but he had certainly noticed her at the party. Luckily for him (and us), the marriage between our father and the Russian hadn't been arranged, so my father was able to call it off. He pursued my mother directly afterwards, despite the fact that she was finishing up her last year at Hogwarts. He wrote her daily, sent her gifts and was in Hogsmeade when the school went there for trips.

My mother had always told me that it was Valentine's Day when she truly gave in to her feelings. She had been toying with my father the entire time, but that day he had enchanted the falling snow around her to fall as red hearts. It was a true love story and had always sent my head spinning when I was younger. I begged my mother to tell me the story all the time, hoping that someday, I might fall in love and that my head would somehow stop spinning, finally finding some ground. They married a year later, on Valentine's Day, and a year later in June Bella was born.

My father was grinning by now. "Andromeda, settle yourself," he said, chuckling. "I'm merely joking with you two, my dear. I intend to keep the promise I made."

"Then why were you looking for husbands for Bella?" Andy asked.

"Andromeda," my father warned and she dropped her gaze. It was not her matter to discuss with him. My father looked at me and then glanced at my uneaten cupcake. "Are you going to eat that, Cissy?"

I looked down at the unwrapped cupcake. Then I slid it over to my father, avoiding Andy's gaze. My father took a bit of the cupcake and then I also offered my glass of milk to him. He took it, sipping slowly.

"Oh, girls," he said after he'd finished chewing. "The Malfoys are coming over for dinner next Sunday. I expect you all to be on your best behaviour. Your aunt, uncle and cousins will be here as well." My stomach dropped at the mention of the Malfoys and I looked down at the table. Andy mumbled a response and then excused herself from the table. I sat in silence, going over the morning's encounter with Lucius. I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

"Don't look so sullen, Narcissa," my father said as he stood up. He put his hand on my shoulder as he walked by me. "We'll have a ball, sweetheart." He kissed the top of my head and then I was alone.