Warnings: SPOILERS!
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, J.K. Rowling does. I only borrow them for fun.
Notes: I normally don't write anything about the Black family of the Malfoy's but Andromeda was begging me to do it so I'm humoring her. I hope its not complete rubbish. Should be canon and DH compliant. Also, there are some references from Sci-Fi's original mini-series Tin Man in here. There is even a direct quote. Enjoy and remember, reviews are love.
Forgive But Never Forget:
"Come on, An!" Nine-year-old Bellatrix called to her middle sister, "Mother is waiting for us."
"Bella!" called seven-year-old Andromeda, "Bella, I don't know where you are!"
The two girls had been playing hide and seek in the hedge maze at their family home of Lyra Manor at Castle Combe, Wiltshire. Bellatrix had run ahead of her sister and Andromeda made a wrong turn. She hurried between the tall shrubs, nearly on the verge of tears. It was getting dark and Andromeda was still afraid of the dark.
"Bella!" She called frantically, again.
"I'm here, An," Bellatrix called, "Just follow my voice, you'll be able to find me."
Bellatrix set off to singing an old nursery rhythm and Andromeda set off in the direction of her voice.
Two little witches flying to and fro, flying fast and freely on their little brooms. Where the wind will take them, no one really knows. Two little witches flying to and fro.
Andromeda hadn't known that she had strayed so far from her sister. Her eyes began to water as the maze around her grew darker and the hedges took on frightening shadows. She listened to her sister sing and focused only on her voice. It sounded nearer now. She ran past turn after turn and soon she emerged at the exit and Bellatrix stood their waiting for her. Andromeda ran up to her sister and threw her arms around her, sobbing.
"It's alright, An," Bellatrix said, holding her sister as she cried.
"I thought I was going to be lost forever," Andromeda said.
"Its only the hedge maze," Bellatrix laughed lightly, "We're on our own property. Besides, nothing could get in here that could hurt you, Father's set wards."
"But it's so dark, Bella," Andromeda replied, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her jumper.
"Still afraid of the dark?" Bellatrix said, "Here, take my hand. Nothing can hurt us if we're together."
Andromeda took Bellatrix's outstretched hand and the two sisters walked toward the looming manor house.
Andromeda opened her eyes. The high pitched screaming coming from the other room told her that Teddy was awake and hungry. She got out of bed and found her dressing gown and slippers and headed for the kitchen to charm his bottle. She pulled the bottle out of the fridge and tapped it with her wand. She turned the bottle and let a drop of milk fall onto her bare wrist. The perfect temperature, of course. She opened the door to the nursery and picked up her crying grandson.
She cradled him in her arms and rocked him back and forth slowly as she fed him the bottle. He gripped at it with his tiny hands and she smiled. It had been so long since she had held an infant in her arms. Teddy pushed the bottle away and began to fuss. Andromeda crossed to the rocking chair in the corner of the room and sat upon it. The chair began to rock on its own volition, soft and steady. Andromeda threw a cloth over her shoulder and held Teddy against it, patting his back gently to coax him. It wasn't long until she heard him burp soundly. She cradled him in her arms once again and he wriggled.
"Hush now, my little Teddy-Bear," she whispered to the tiny infant.
Teddy still fussed and she let the rocking chair provide the movement as she began to hum the old nursery rhythm that had soothed her all of those years ago and until that very night had been all but forgotten to her. Teddy finally fell back to sleep and Andromeda slowly got to her feet and lay him gently back into the pram, stroking his turquoise hair before returning to her own room. She slipped between the covers once more and sighed deeply. She turned over onto her side and let sleep claim her again.
Andromeda, age twelve, sat at Bellatrix's bed in the Hospital Wing. She had contracted a rather bad bout of dragon pox and had to be placed into quarantine. The matron hand only just allowed her to have visitors, but she was still in a fever. Andromeda pulled the cloth that had been soaking in cold water from the bowl. She rung it out and gently dabbed at Bella's flushed face. She made a small sound and Andromeda hushed her.
"There, there, Bella," she cooed, "I'll make it better."
"Two little witches flying to and fro, flying fast and freely on their little brooms." She sang quietly, "Where the wind will take them, no one really knows. Two little witches flying to and fro."
Bellatrix opened her swollen eyes and found Andromeda sitting there. She attempted a smiled for her only to wince against the pain of the pock marks.
"Lay still, sister," Andromeda said, "You're still quite ill."
"Thank you," Bellatrix said through a raspy throat. She stretched her hand out toward Andromeda who took it in her own and held it gently but firmly.
"No need to thank me, Bella," Andromeda smiled, "What are sister's for?"
"I don't like it, An," Cygnus yelled.
"Of course not," Andromeda replied, "Why would you?"
It was Christmas holiday of 1969 and Andromeda and Narcissa were home from school. Narcissa and Bellatrix stood out in the hallway, listening to their parent and sister row.
"How could you?" Druella asked, "How could you even think of it?"
"He's kind," Andromeda began.
"He's filth!" Cygnus spat, "In all of my years I could never even begin to imagine that you would even think of...why the very idea disgusts me!"
"Father," Andromeda tried.
"No!" Cygnus snapped and Andromeda looked at the ground, "I will not allow my daughter to court some Mudblood. Why even a friendship with this boy is out of the question, do you hear?"
"Yes, Father," Andromeda replied softly even as tear began to well up in her brown eyes, "May I go?"
"Yes," Cygnus waved his hand, "Get out of my sight."
Andromeda curtsied to her parents before making a hasty retreat toward the door. Narcissa and Bellatrix barley had time to back up before she bolted past both of them and up the grand staircase into her room. She threw herself onto her bed and wept. Bellatrix looked up the stairs and then at Narcissa who shrugged gracefully.
"Go and talk to her," Narcissa offered.
Bellatrix nodded and ascended the stairs. She knocked on her sister's door lightly and wasn't quite sure whether Andromeda heard it or not. It wasn't until she heard and soft "come in" that she twisted the door knob and entered the room. Bella sat on the edge of the bed in silence, not knowing quite what to say.
"What is it, Bella?" Andromeda asked, her voice muffled.
"What was that about?" Bellatrix asked, deciding to be direct.
"A boy," Andromeda replied, sitting up and dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.
"A boy that Mother and Father don't approve of," Bellatrix asked.
"What do you think?" Andromeda sobbed, "You heard them."
"Is he a Hufflepuff or something?" Bellatrix said, trying to lighten the mood but failing.
Fresh tears welled up in Andromeda's eyes and she began to cry again. Bellatrix pulled her sister into a hug and allowed her to cry on her shoulder.
"There now, it will be alright," Bellatrix said, "All you have to do is stop seeing this boy and everything will be fine again, you'll see. I've heard something today, about a man who has a wonderful plan for the Wizarding World. He calls himself Lord Voldemort. He wants to get rid of all of the Muggle-born filth."
Andromeda went stiff in her sisters arms and pulled away from her. Bellatrix looked at her sister and frowned.
"Whatever is the matter, An?" Bellatrix asked.
"You believe it?" Andromeda asked, "All of those lies about Muggle-borns being bad for the Wizarding World?"
"You know I do," Bellatrix replied, "They're poisoning our blood, An. All of those horrid witches and wizards marrying Muggles, it's grotesque and unnatural. If they keep at it, there will be no magic people left in the world."
"There are Muggle-borns at Hogwarts, Bella," Andromeda gaped, "And half-bloods and they all seemed full of magic to me!"
"It won't last," Bellatrix replied, gazing at her sister as if she had never seen her before, "Oh, Slytherin, that boy is a Mudblood, isn't he?"
"Don't," Andromeda snapped for the first time ever, "Don't say such a word."
"Why not?" Bellatrix asked, drawing herself up to her full height, "It's true. They are dirty blood. Don't let yourself be fooled, An, they will corrupt you. Mother and Father are right, if that boy is a Mudblood you ought to stay away from him."
"His name is Ted," Andromeda said, "Ted Tonks and I happen to like him a very great deal. I can't believe you lot, thinking that Muggle's will be the end of us."
Bellatrix stood then, her eyes going dark with a blind hatred that Andromeda had never seen before in her sister. The look on Bellatrix's face frightened her and in that moment she knew that something was broken between them.
"You listen to me Andromeda," Bellatrix commanded, her voice dark, "You stay away from that Mudblood or I swear to Slytherin I will never speak to you again, do you hear me?"
"Bella," Andromeda pleaded.
"No sister of mine will consort with Mudbloods," Bellatrix snapped, "Do as Mother and Father say. Do as I say. Let the Mudblood alone. As for me, I'm going to see the Dark Lord. I think he will find my talents useful."
"Bella, don't!" Andromeda warned, "He's evil, that man. No good will come of it."
"I disagree," Bellatrix replied, "As for you, you had better chose which side you're on now, Andromeda. Ours or theirs."
With that Bellatrix turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, the door slamming behind her.
Andromeda hastily charmed her things into her old school trunk. She heard pounding at her door. She had just slammed the trunk closed when her door was blasted open and her raging father ran into the room followed closely by Bellatrix. Cygnus pointed his wand at her and Andromeda cowered.
"GET OUT!" he roared firing a curse wildly. It missed her but hit the mirror over the fireplace, shattering it, "GET OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU MUDBLOOD LOVING STRUMPET! GET OUT AND NEVER COME BACK!"
Andromeda shrank her trunk and stuffed it in her robe pocket. She hurried past her father and Bellatrix who followed her down the stairs. Andromeda hastened past the drawing room where her mother still sat, collapsed in the middle of the room sobbing her eyes out at her daughter's betrayal. She made it to the front door but was pulled backward sharply by her arm. Bellatrix held Andromeda against her chest, her wand under her throat.
"Before you go, sister," she spat the last word out like it was something fowl in her mouth, "Let me show you what you have just done."
Bellatrix flung Andromeda away from her. Andromeda landed against the wall, hard and turned around quickly. Bellatrix slowly rolled up the sleeve of her left arm and Andromeda stared in horror at the skull and snake that was burned into her arm.
"You chose wrong," she snapped, "Now GET AWAY FROM US YOU FILTHY BLOOD TRAITOR!"
Andromeda did not need telling twice. She groped for the door and ran out of the house, never to return.
Andromeda woke up with tears in her eyes. The sun was shinning brightly in the window and she brushed the tears away. She opened the door to Teddy's room to find him still sleeping soundly in his pram. She closed the door quietly and walked into the kitchen to make herself some tea. She stared out of the window, the memories in her dreams haunting her. She noted the calender on the wall and saw that it was August 24th. Teddy began to cry and Andromeda went to tend to him. After she had finished with Teddy she approached the fireplace and took out some floo powder and stuck her head into it.
A bell chimed in the living room of the Burrow and Molly hastened to the fireplace. Andromeda's head floated in the green flames.
"Andromeda, how lovely to see you," Molly smiled.
"And you, Molly," Andromeda greeted her old friend, "I was wondering if Harry was in."
"He's upstairs with Ron, I'll go and fetch him for you," Molly replied.
A few moments later, Harry knelt before her. Three months had past since the war had ended and the young man still looked care-worn and fatigued.
"Hullo, Andromeda," Harry greeted her, "You called for me?"
"Yes," Andromeda smiled at him, "I was wondering if you would mind babysitting Teddy for me this afternoon. I have something rather important that I must see to."
"No problem," Harry replied, "I'll be there in a moment."
"Thank you, Harry," Andromeda said.
Harry nodded and Andromeda pulled her head from the fireplace. Minuets later, Harry came whizzing into the room, vanishing the soot that had come with him. Andromeda left him a list of instructions before pulling on a traveling cloak and Disapperating into the afternoon sunlight.
She appeared at the crest of a seemingly deserted hillside. She followed the worn path in the long grass and came upon and ancient looking stone fence. She passed through the rusting iron gate and walked among the aged and crumbling stones that marked the final resting places of her relations long since past. She came upon the new black marble of Bellatrix's grave and knelt down beside it. She conjured a wreath of black roses and propped it up against the stone, running her hand over the inscription.
Bellatrix Black Lestrange
August 24, 1951 - May 2, 1998
"Toujours Pur"
"Oh, Bella," she sighed, "Why did you let go?"
"It's because she believed," Andromeda started at the voice that she had not heard since 1970.
She spun around, her wand drawn by reflex. Narcissa stood just behind her sister, her sapphire blue traveling cloak billowing around her slender frame in the sudden breeze. She walked toward Andromeda slowly. Andromeda lowered her wand as she noted that Narcissa did not have her own drawn.
"We all believed," Narcissa continued, "But we were wrong. It took almost losing my family for me to figure that out. Of course, I had already lost you, sister."
"Cissy," Andromeda said, almost questioning, "You agreed with them."
"I was young," Narcissa replied, "And I was foolish. And I was at school when it happened, wasn't I? Though I know that is no excuse. I would have watched you go and not said a word against it."
"And you would do so now?" Andromeda asked.
"Not now, no," Narcissa spoke softly, kneeling gracefully beside her sister, "I still have my husband and son, and I can't imagine what it would be like without them. It must be terrible for you."
"It is hard," Andromeda nodded curtly, "My husband and my child, dead. But I still have a grandson to raise."
"It could have been me," Narcissa said, staring at Bella's grave.
"It could have been any of us," Andromeda replied.
"We never stopped loving you," Narcissa said after a heavy silence, "Not really."
Andromeda looked at her sister, "Bella did."
"Bella was mad," Narcissa admitted, "After you were banished, it presented itself even more. After she joined the Dark Lord. Her madness even frightened Mother and Father. They worried about you. Father would read the Daily Prophet front to back once the Dark Lord gained power, looking to see if you were one of the dead."
"Really?" Andromeda asked.
Narcissa nodded, "Oh, he never admitted it, but I knew that was what he was doing. And how Mother cried when she thought no one was watching."
"I never meant to cause you pain," Andromeda began.
"An," Narcissa smiled humorlessly, "You should not apologize. It was we who have wronged you. I came here today in hopes of catching you so that I may beg for your forgiveness. I was wrong to have turned against you for loving a Muggle-born. This war had taught me a very valuable lesson. I have seen what the Muggle-borns and half-bloods can do with magic and some of it is greater than our own, we, who are pure."
Andromeda felt a tear fall down her cheek at her sister's words.
"We have all lost so much for his cause," Narcissa continued, "And I am ashamed of what I have done, but if I can gain back my sister's love, I think it would ease the pain and the guilt. So can you forgive me, my sister? Can you find it in your heart to allow me back into your life even when I have helped cause some of the loss within it?"
"Nothing would make me happier than to have you back at my side, Cissy," Andromeda replied, "But I can not forget what you have done."
"I could not ask you to forget," Narcissa said softly, looking at her hands which were folded in her lap, "But if you cannot forgive me than I cannot hold that against you. I would deserve it."
Andromeda suddenly reached for Narcissa and embraced her for the first time in ages. She had missed her sisters so very much. Narcissa was tense in her sister's embrace, but only for a mere second before she hugged her back, tears forming in her blue eyes.
"I forgive you," Andromeda sobbed, "I forgive you all."
Narcissa smiled and hugged her all the tighter before pulling away. The two women dried their tears and gazed at their older sister's grave.
"Happy birthday, Bella," Andromeda whispered.
Narcissa stood and offered her hand to Andromeda who smiled and took it. The two women walked back down the path, hand in hand, both feeling better than they had in years. Forgiveness was a beautiful thing.
AN: So I hope that wasn't complete rubbish. The good news is, Andromeda is happy with it and so am I. And for all of my returning readers, I am working on the other fics for you so hold your hippogriffs. Its hard to get the Harry Potter lot to move when they feel like being lazy. Please review! Loves!