Reconciliation
(because everyone deserves their happy ending)
After the war, two things had happened. Draco had returned to Narcissa, and Narcissa had returned to family.
Family hadn't been very accepting.
But sure enough, with Draco trailing petulantly along behind, sulking like Narcissa had when she was his age, she had appeared on Andromeda's doorstep, bang, bang with the old doorknocker that Ted had installed long ago, and arms wide open, prejudice seemingly forgotten.
"Go away." And the door had slammed in Cissy's face.
"See," she had heard Draco whisper as she stood with her back pressed against the door, breathing hard, "I told you this wasn't worth it."
It was almost too much. Years of family feud, and the first thing Narcissa did when she was free- free of obligation, well almost, but most of all free of the prejudice that had surrounded their family and indeed most of the purebloods- was come back to Andy.
And it was almost too much. Those words that were spoken by a sulky, spoilt little boy- combined, though she would never admit it, with the thoughts of how Cissy got so lucky and she herself had lost, lost, lost everything- had nearly made her rip open the plain wooden door and hurl herself into her not-quite-lost sister's welcoming arms.
And then baby Teddy gave wail, and her will held out, and both sisters were left with guilty consciences and heavy hearts.
The guilty consciences won over in the end, and somehow they both managed to send the letters at the same time.
"You can come," read Andy's- Cissy's simply said "I'm sorry."
This time she didn't bring Draco, learning from past mistakes and not pushing the issue- he had his own life now, anyway, or would soon if she had anything to say about it- and she turned up on the doorstep and banged the lion-shaped knocker again and this time Andy let her in.
"I'm sorry," they said at exactly the same time, and then they both laughed, but it wasn't awkward like Narcissa had imagined, and it wasn't horrible like Andromeda had imagined. It was just Andy and Cissy laughing, and it felt like old times.
She led her sister to the living room and seated her, before hurrying to the kitchen to make tea- and cocoa, because that was always Cissy's favourite to sneak when their parents weren't looking. She poured the drinks in mugs, blue, which was Ted's before, for Cissy, and one that horrible pink-red colour that Ted had bought for her, for herself.
Back in the living room, and Narcissa was not sitting where she had been left, and also not walking around the room and examining the muggle appliances and gadgets as Andromeda would have expected, but standing in the corner of the room, staring out of the window, and gently fussing over baby Teddy.
As Andromeda re-entered, she looked up.
"Is he yours?"
"My grandson," Andromeda replied, setting the drinks tray down on the coffee table and crossing the room to stand beside her sister.
"Oh… Where are the parents?"
Suddenly, it wasn't Andy and Cissy laughing together in comfortable companionship anymore, but Andromeda and Narcissa, and for a moment the chasm between them seemed too wide for the flimsy bridge they were building.
Andromeda nearly sent her away- nearly, the jealousy nearly won out- jealousy that Narcissa had everything; Draco, Lucius, everything, and she herself had nothing… Ted was gone. Dora, her darling baby Dora, was gone, and even Remus, of whom she had not approved in the beginning, but he wasn't really so bad, was gone.
But then little Teddy gave a wail and Andy came back, taking the baby from her sister's arms and quieting him. She gestured towards the coffee table.
"Made you a drink."
"Thanks."
The silence was awkward this time, so Andy led Cissy to the sofa and sat down heavily. Cissy sat next to her and carefully took up her cup. If she noticed her favourite drink, she didn't comment, but Andy knew she had noticed because her eyes were smiling and they lit up her whole face.
They sipped their drinks and didn't look at each other, and each waited for the other to speak. Eventually Cissy gave in.
"Was it difficult?"
"Yes." She didn't have to ask what. Instinctively she knew, it was obvious in Narcissa's eyes and her voice that she was talking about the war.
"I was there you know."
"I know." They were leaving so much unsaid, but they found they didn't need to say it. They just knew- knew as they had known when they had been much younger and-
And?
And then Andy remembered something that left her with mixed, confused feelings as she guided her sister out the door with the offer to "come again, if she wanted"- next time, Narcissa had made her promise, she must come to the Manor, because it was awfully big and Narcissa did get so lonely when Lucius was away (and anyway, their marriage was going to the dogs, but she didn't say that).
But it was what Andy remembered that gave her courage- Slytherin courage, not Gryffindor courage, but it was still courage in the end. Because once, many, many years ago, Andy had been very jealous of Cissy, with her pretty golden hair and all the boys wanted her. And she was still jealous of her now, and maybe that would never change, but maybe it should. Maybe she had to change it.
Ahs lifted little Teddy to level with her face.
"Am I doing the right thing?"
And although he only gurgled at her, his answer still reassured her that she was.
… FIN …
Un-betaed. Sorry, but I really wanted to get his up for you lot. Maybe I'll go over it again later.
Thanks to the Character Sketches forum for inadvertantly inspiring this set of pieces.
And I think I'm the only one over on that forum who leaves fifty mile long auther's notes at the end of each chapter.
Please read and review!