Bonds.

Being the Seventh part in the Labyrinth of Tales.

Narcissa stayed in the bed beside him until the dinner bell rang, she did not look at him words but she swung her legs from the bed, straightened her uniform with a flick of her wand and walked towards the exit. They had not conversed in words since their brief conversation and Remus felt a certain lacking but was mortally too afraid to make the first move. Wriggling his feet in a vain attempt of ridding his legs of that tingling feeling he caught a whiff of his dinner being carried down the corridor to him by Madam Pomfrey. She lowered it onto his lap and he smiled gratefully, the only good thing that came from being bed ridden was the honour of being served every meal in your pyjamas. The gravy made him nauseous but the potato bake was superb. The hours to midnight ticked away slowly on the golden clock on the wall opposite, he could almost hum a tune in the time it took for one second to become another. The taste of the ever-expanding muffins almost swelled in his mouth but he could not quite remember exactly how they tasted, the rough grains of sugar, the hint of cinnamon. If he tried he could still smell her presence in the vacant space beside him, her exotic French perfume lingering but not her soul. Her voice always resounded in the roving spaces of his mind and he wished they would make music to his ears once more. He wondered brilliantly if he would always be in love with someone who was and always would be incapable of returning that feeling, he could only ever grasp a shadow of her self yet he was intoxicated. Her gaze a poison that lingered ever too sweetly on the tip of his lips, Remus was completely addicted to a drug that would do nothing for him but expose him more than he could ever imagine.

His mind wandered into other interests and not unusually fell into the area of maps once more; it was in this mood that Sirius found him. He glanced up to see his friend, a quiet shadow creeping down the hall between the empty beds.

As Sirius reached him he whispered, "Muffilatio" giving his wand a small flick before turning to Remus with a wide grin, able to talk freely now due to the spell cast around the bed.

"The house-elves were just lovely tonight, they were more than happy to oblige me with not just normal ever-expanding muffins but flavour-enhancing ever-expanding muffins too!"

Speaking quickly as if this was the most exciting and important thing in the world Sirius deposited a basket of muffins on top of Remus' lap with a flourish.

Remus nodded his thanks and while Sirius took a seat he placed an offending muffin in his mouth. It swelled immediately, the chocolate chips grew larger, the soft buttery taste melted as he chewed and swallowed. The great thing about ever-expanding muffins was that they were sort of like a bottomless jar of cookies, the more you kept eating it, the more it grew. Remus took a glance at Sirius who was chewing and swallowing in frenzied motions and Remus had to muster all his self control not to laugh out loud, looking hastily away from Sirius he swallowed with one quick motion and the muffin was gone.

"Fan" a gasp "bloody" another gasp "tastic" Remus exclaimed as he wiped his mouth on the arm of his pyjamas.

Sirius muttered similar profanities once he had managed to master his own muffin. The boys then pulled out their maps and talked long into the night, never hungry and never tired.

….

The full moon had swept it curses upon Remus and then had gone and left him with a month of peace before it would return. It was the first weekend after the moon and Remus was sitting against the old beech tree in the grounds that overlooked the lake, small rays of sun filtering through the leaves and onto his slightly aching body. 'Hogwarts: A History' was open in his lap yet his eyes were watching a slight rippling motion spreading from the centre of the lake. Waves made from the Giant Squid no doubt but the movement calmed him and seemed to soothe the pain and anxiety away. Remus enjoyed moments like these, where he could sit by himself in the fullness of nature and wonder at his thoughts. Sirius and James were practicing quidditch, as usual, and Peter had wanted to watch them which had given Remus the perfect opportunity to have some alone time. He was just thinking of what a splendid spring day it was when he felt someone beside him. Glancing away from the ripples on the lake he looked upwards and to his left, towards her. She had her hands tightly clasped behind her, her lips steadily poised as if expecting attack and before Remus could utter a single word she spoke;

"Mesmerising isn't it? The water, the way it moves?"

Remus let his gaze drift back to the lake, unsure of why she had approached him and even more confused at why she would comment about something so mundane.

"Yes, it's very therapeutic" he agreed, hoping she would lead the conversation elsewhere, still unsure of her purpose.

She took a seat beside him, positioning the silk of her dress into careful folds in her lap, she held out his handkerchief that he had leant her all those nights ago, when she had been crying.

"Thankyou for your kindness," she paused "you are always asking after my health yet it is obvious you are far more ill than I have ever been".

It was more of a statement than a question, the one question that Remus dreaded answering; he hated lies yet could not escape one in this situation. He took back his handkerchief while pondering his answer.

"Everyone is dying, everyday we live is one less to breathe, one step closer to death. I am no less 'ill' than you are in those terms, we are all equals" his philosophical answer came out quietly and calmly and he lifted one knee to rest his arm on. Keeping his gaze on the water lapping onto the shore of the lake.

"Why is it that even though I have barely talked to you before, you seem to know what to say to me? I actually find it quite frightening, you intrigue me, that you can know so little yet so much" she had almost leaned closer while she said this, her eyes had found his face and studied it ferociously.

He let out a small laugh, afraid to lift his gaze to hers he merely smiled, "Perhaps it's because I know your cousin so well, you do have an awful lot in common. For one; you both hate asking for help but desperately need it. Is maintaining your Pride really worth you happiness?"

Startled again by his intelligence into human nature she composed herself before answering, finding it increasingly hard to let go of emotions she had long kept caged.

"Happiness has never mattered in my family and it never will. There are expectations placed on me that will cost me more than happiness if I do not fulfil them. Do you understand what it is like to be constantly judged by the purity of your blood? By the house you were placed into? By the company you keep? Society has already allotted me a place in this world, and frankly, happiness has not been given to me."

The way that she accepted this so calmly and frankly made Remus shiver to the bone, made him recognise Sirius' bravery all the more and made Narcissa's demeanour so much easier to understand.

"It doesn't have to be that way …"

He had reached a tentative hand to place on her knee before he realised she was crying. Not loud, emotional and angry crying but a single tear born of years of acceptance and quiet defiance. It traced a line from the corner of her eye to her chin. Remus let his hand move to touch the tear and the angles of her face, she stiffened under his touch and he withdrew his hand, hastily shifting his gaze back to the lake.

"Please never mention this to anyone, especially Sirius. I … I have to go." She spoke quietly yet Remus could tell she was distressed, he was about to speak his goodbyes but she had risen and left as quickly as she had come.

Everything was in fleeting moments. But wasn't that what life was?

…

A/N: I'm back AGAIN. Reading 'Deathly Hallows', feeling the inadequacy of Lupin and Tonks' relationship and then the death of ALL of the marauders has driven me quite insane. So I've tried to launch back into fandom again. Although I've sadly forgotten a lot of my plans for this fic. Especially the parts concerning Alyssa, I may have to be completely horrible and leave them out for the time being. Good to be back, hope all my readers are out there somewhere.