#in case anyone's curious i think Bella is demisexual/demiromantic and only ever felt attraction to Voldemort who she has not met yet

[crookshanksagentofowca]

Kiss

“I’ve finally decided who I want my first kiss to be with,” Cissy announced proudly one day as the Black Sisters took a stroll around the grounds. Bellatrix and Andromeda both groaned. Since she’d started at Hogwarts, Cissy had made it her life’s mission to get a boyfriend, something neither of her sisters approved of, partly because they still saw her as a baby and partly because they didn’t think anyone was good enough for her.

Their lack of enthusiasm didn’t discourage her whatsoever, nor their mother, who kept sending Narcissa letters going over the pros and cons of every Pureblood family who had a son near her age and offering to brew her love potions—not that she needed such help. Between her own good looks, their family’s reputation, and the names her sisters had already made for themselves at school, she had instantly become the most popular girl in her year and boys swarmed her like bumblebees around the daffodils she was named for. There were a select few she flirted with regularly but with Valentine’s Day fast approaching, she seemed to have decided to narrow down her options.

Not waiting for her sisters to ask, Cissy said, with the air of a show judge picking a prize hippogriff, “Lucius Malfoy!” Bella and Andie groaned again, louder. “That prat?” Bellatrix shouted, kicking the trunk of a tree hard, clearly imagining it was the boy’s head. “I don’t understand why you two don’t like him!” Cissy cried in frustration. “I know why you do like him,” Andromeda grumbled. “It’s just because he looks like you!” “What’s wrong with that?” she replied, her cheeks turning slightly pink. “Mother says I should be proud of my beauty so why shouldn’t I try to find a boy who matches it? Besides, the Malfoys are an excellent family.”

“Auntie Walburga always says noble blood isn’t enough on its own,” Bella said haughtily. “Each family and individual has to constantly strive to prove themselves worthy of that nobility. I don’t see Malfoy doing that.” “He seems to think his mere existence is the greatest thing to ever happen to the world; the way he struts around this place,” Andie added. “But, as far as I can tell, he’s not particularly smart or talented.” “He certainly can’t fly!” Bella burst out. “But he doesn’t realize it. I still can’t believe he tried out for the Quidditch team as a first year and was shocked when he didn’t make it! Pathetic little worm! His tantrum was funny, though, I’ll admit.” “He’s got nothing going for him except his name and his hair,” Andie continued. “Which might be enough for some people, but you can do better than that, Cissy!”

Narcissa stomped her foot, glaring at them both. “You two are just jealous that I’m the youngest but I’m going to have my first kiss before you!” At that, they both burst out laughing. Bellatrix even collapsed on to the ground. “First of all,” she gasped, clutching her stomach. “That’s not even true! Andie’s already had her first kiss!” “That was under mistletoe,” Cissy protested. “It doesn’t count!” “And I’m pretty sure it only happened because Rabastan thought I was you,” Andromeda said. Now it was her turn to blush. “Since he seemed really confused when I tried to talk to him after and he’s been avoiding me ever since.”

“Idiot,” Bellatrix muttered, getting to her feet. “He should have known that if I’d ended up under the mistletoe with him, I’d have slapped him! Which brings me to my second point: I’d rather kiss a dementor than Lucius Malfoy. Or either Lestrange, for that matter.” “So who do you want to kiss?” Cissy asked. “Nobody!” “There must be someone.” “I’ve yet to meet anyone who seems like they’d be worth that. All the boys here are so annoying. I don’t want their disgusting mouths on mine!” “It’s not that bad,” Andie said. “Although it’s not that good, either. Mostly it was just…weird.” Cissy frowned.

“That can’t be right. It’s supposed to be the most magical thing in the world!” “You need to stop reading Mother’s romance novels,” Bella grumbled. “To be fair,” Andie reasoned, “it might feel different if you’re in love. I only kissed Rabastan because I was curious. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about.” “And you found out it’s about nothing! All this rubbish about kissing and courting and marriage is so stupid! I don’t want to end up tied to some useless boy for my whole life and have to change my name and do whatever he says. I’m better off on my own!” “But you have to get married!” Cissy cried. “That’s what everyone says.” “Come on, Ciss, you know what a rule-breaker Bella is,” Andie said with a grin. “If any of us can find a way out of marriage, it’s her!”

“But then how will I be maid of honor at your wedding?” “You can be maid of honor at Andie’s wedding.” “Excuse me,” Andromeda objected, “I’d prefer not to get married either unless I find someone I love.” Narcissa rolled her eyes.

“Well I’ve already found someone I love! Probably. I’ll know for sure after I kiss him.” Her sisters groaned yet again. “You know most people don’t marry the first person they kiss,” Andie pointed out. “You’re a bit young to be deciding who you want to spend the rest of your life with.” “But I really like Lucius! He’s handsome and charming and witty—” “Are you sure we’re thinking of the same Lucius Malfoy?” Bellatrix asked. “Sounds like you’ve met a completely different version of him than the rest of us.” “She might have. If he likes Cissy too, he’s probably been putting his best foot forward,” Andromeda said. Bellatrix scowled.

“Doesn’t matter. Nothing he can do could make him deserve Cissy!” “So who would you want me to date?” Cissy snapped. “Who do you think deserves me?” “No one! There’s no one at this school who’s worthy of any of us!” “Do you think the real reason you hate Lucius is just because I like him and you want us all to never grow up and get married?” There was a moment of silence as Bellatrix’s scowl deepened and Andromeda looked back and forth between her sisters uncomfortably. Finally Bella said,

“It’s not that I don’t want us to grow up; I don’t want us to forget that our sisterhood is more important than anything. I don’t want us to start putting some dumb boy before each other. Growing up doesn’t have to mean getting married.” Narcissa sighed. “Don’t be so silly, Bella! Of course, no boy’s ever going to come between us! But I do like Lucius, and I do want to get married someday. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop loving you!” “Doesn’t it? Mother only visits her family once a year. And we see Auntie Lucretia way less than Auntie Walburga because she’s not a Black anymore. Once you get married, we’ll never see you again!” Cissy shook her head stubbornly. “It will be different for us. We’re not just sisters; we’re best friends and we will be forever! Once we’re grown up, we’ll be able to Apparate, so we can visit each other all the time. Maybe, since you don’t want to get married, you could even live with me and Lucius!”

Bellatrix didn’t look like she thought much of that idea. Andromeda laughed at the look on her face but laid a hand on her shoulder and said gently, “Cissy’s right. We can’t stop her from growing up, but we can grow up in our own way. We don’t have to be exactly like the rest of our family.” Bellatrix considered this. “You two are the most important people in my life. That won’t ever change.” “And we’ll always love you,” Narcissa told her. “But one of the things we love about you is that you don’t try to control our whole lives like Mother and Father do. Please don’t start doing that now.”

“I didn’t forbid you from going out with Lucius. I just said you deserve better!” “Which, to be fair, you do,” Andie put in. “You were thinking about forbidding me though,” Narcissa said. “Or trying to, at least. I can see it on your face. But if our sisterhood is really so important to you, can you please stop thinking less about what I deserve and more about what I want?”

Bellatrix’s mouth twisted unpleasantly. While she functioned as the sisters’ de facto leader, she usually filled that role by making fun suggestions of games they could play and ways they could challenge themselves, which occasionally took some persuasion but her sisters were always happier for having gone along with. Strict rules were their parents’ job, and something Bella struggled against the most of the three of them. She didn’t want to put her sisters through the same thing, potentially causing them to rebel against or resent her.

“Fine,” she said eventually, a sharp edge still in her voice. “You can kiss Malfoy if that will really make you happy. But if he ever hurts you—if he even so much as breathes the wrong way around you—I will rip him limb from limb, drag his body into the Forbidden Forest and feed it to whatever creature comes fastest at the smell of blood.” Andromeda, who usually frowned whenever Bellatrix’s threats got too violent, nodded solemnly in agreement this time. To both of her sisters’ surprise, a wide smile broke out on Cissy’s face. “Good!” she said cheerfully. “It’s nice to know you’re looking out for me!”

@black-sisters-microfic

This was supposed to be short and funny and ended up long and kind of sad. Oh well!