House: Slytherin
Prompt : Well, you are certainly nothing like your Father
Category : Themed
Word Count: 2002
"Do you think Teddy and Andromeda will like me?" Draco asked, pausing in the act of putting on his shoes. The enchanted shoe horn floated beside his foot, but he made no motion to use it.
"There's only one way to find out," Hermione replied sweetly, tapping her foot in impatience.
"But, what if - " He couldn't help but whine at least a little.
"We've been through this before, darling. You were awful to me for years, and I like you well enough. You haven't even met these people. They won't hate you for things you had no control over."
Draco gasped, his hands over his heart as he staggered backwards. "You - you like me?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "I thought I made that clear when I married you."
Draco shook his head gravely. "All this time, I thought you were just being polite. I'm so glad we cleared that up." He then gave her his very best charming grin, and winked at her. Perhaps he could distract her long enough that she forgot all this nonsense about going to see Andromeda.
Hermione laughed, shaking her head a little at her husband's theatrics. "Come on, we'll be late."
After putting on his shoes and fastening his cloak, Draco turned to his wife again. "What if - "
In the middle of opening the door, Hermione sighed. "I told you before. They're perfectly reasonable people. It'll be fine."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "But love, they're Blacks. Blacks are known for being irrational."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Your mother is perfectly fine."
"Aunt Bella-"
"Are you really going to describe her as irrational? Come on, we really will be late." Her tone allowed no further discussion of the matter.
.oOo.
Narcissa sat in front of her vanity, drumming her perfectly manicured fingernails on the marble countertop. She wondered if she could really do this. It had been so long… Perhaps it was better not to reopen old wounds. Perhaps she should simply say she was sick and avoid the entire incident. It had been so many years… She was considering the merits of avoiding her sister when her daughter-in-law burst in.
"Morning, Mrs. Malfoy!" Hermione cried. "Come on, we're late enough as it is."
Narcissa sighed. "I'm not feeling all too well… I might-"
"Really?" Hermione's tone made it perfectly clear the younger witch knew exactly what Narcissa was trying to do. "It is hard enough dealing with your son, Narcissa. Do not make me drag you to your sister's house, because you know I would."
Narcissa sighed once more, glancing into the vanity one last time. Her hair wasn't parted correctly... "I'll be down in a moment."
Hermione smiled. "Perfect."
.oOo.
It turned out that getting Narcissa and Draco to the outskirts of Hereford, where Andromeda and her grandson lived, was not the hardest part. The hardest part was getting Draco to knock on the door. He stared at the door, then came up with a host of reasons for why he couldn't possibly rap his knuckles against the wood - what if this was the wrong house, his fingers were too cold to knock properly, what if no one answered the door - in the end, after minutes of futilely trying to reason with him, Hermione gave up and rang the bell herself. She could understand his reluctance, no matter how light she tried to make of it. Old wounds ran deep, but they had to start trying to heal them. After a few seconds, the door swung open to reveal a smiling Andromeda Tonks, who held a small boy in her arms.
"Good morning," Narcissa said tightly. From the way she held herself, it was clear she wanted to be anywhere but on Andromeda's doorstep.
"Sister," Andromeda replied, her voice choked, although from joy or disdain Hermione couldn't tell. She noted that the resemblance between the two witches was undeniable, though it was clear that Andromeda look much more like Bellatrix than her fair-haired younger sister. The silence seemed to stretch between the two witches, and for a moment Hermione and Draco seemed forgotten.
Draco gulped. "I brought cookies," he said in a desperate attempt to defuse the sudden tension in the air.
Andromeda smiled gratefully, stepping aside to let them into her house. "How kind."
"He made them himself," Hermione interjected, pride obvious in her voice.
Andromeda's eyes widened. "Really? I wouldn't have - with your upbringing..."
"After the war..." Draco said, ducking his head a little in embarrassment. "I had seen too much evil accomplished with magic. I had done too much evil with my own. I wanted nothing more to do with it. It was difficult, but Hermione helped me see that there was another way. I learned to do things the Muggle way. Baking in particular is therapeutic to me," Draco explained, before stopping abruptly and anxiously running his fingers through his hair. "I - I'm sorry. That was far too much information. There is -"
"- no need to, apologise," Andromeda said sternly. "Now, do come inside. You must be freezing out here." Happy to oblige, Hermione, Narcissa and Draco followed her in, seating themselves on her worn leather couches. All around the house were pictures and trinkets that spoke of a life well-lived, with family well-loved.
"I'm glad to hear that you're recovering from the war," Andromeda said, looking down at the tray of cookies once again, before chuckling. "Well, you are certainly nothing like your Father," she said, her expression softening.
"Thank Merlin. It's a good thing he's locked up in Azkaban now," Hermione muttered.
"Indeed. I'm sure my sister played an important role in preserving him from that awful man," Andromeda said softly.
Narcissa seemed taken aback, but quickly regained her composure as her sister introduced her to Teddy Lupin. Then Narcissa smiled at Andromeda, her eyes gentler than Hermione had ever seen before. "May I hold him?" she asked.
"You may." Andromeda handed Teddy to her sister, and Narcissa held the child close to her body.
"He's a beautiful baby," Narcissa said, looking into his tawny eyes, which were changing by the second to a shade of silvery grey. His hair, too, was darkening - soon, he would look like a proper Black. She had always longed for more children, but it simply had not been meant to be.
"You say that, even when you know his father was a werewolf and his grandfather a muggleborn?" Andromeda challenged.
Narcissa sighed. "I may not approve of his heritage, but can we leave the past behind us? As I recall you were not terribly pleased about your daughter marrying Lupin to begin with," Raw pain was evident in the woman's voice. "Look at me. I've moved on. The world has moved on. I did not refuse my son when he asked to marry Hermione Granger. She is a muggleborn, but I have found that she is a far better daughter-in-law than Pansy Parkinson would ever have been."
Andromeda's face softened. "You've changed, sister."
"I have," Narcissa answered. She gestured to Draco and Hermione, who sat silently watching the exchange. "We may be Malfoys, but we are also Blacks. You may be a Tonk and Teddy a Lupin, but you are Blacks, too. We are family, Andromeda. We're all that is left of the Blacks. Please, sister."
Andromeda looked from Narcissa to Draco to Hermione, then to the baby boy in Narcissa's lap, whose eyes were now silvery grey and his hair jet black. She sighed. "I've missed you, Narcissa."
"I've missed you too," Narcissa replied, passing Teddy to Hermione and getting to her feet. Andromeda rose as well, and the two sisters embraced. When they pulled apart, tears were running down both of their cheeks.
"Now, who wants ice cream?" Andromeda asked. "I made it for dessert, but I think the occasion calls for a celebration-"
"I cree!" Teddy shrieked, his hair and eyes suddenly turning bubble-gum pink as he wriggled in Hermione's arms. "I cree!"
"Um, what am I supposed to do with him?" Hermione said, grunting a little as she tried to restrain the boy.
"Oh, hand him to me," Andromeda laughed. "I can take care of him."
As the baby was handed off, Narcissa suddenly realized what Teddy had been trying to say. "Wait, you feed him ice cream?" she asked incredulously.
Andromeda spun. "He's far too young for ice cream," she said.
"Andy, I'm your sister. Your face is screaming guilt." Narcissa laughed. "You spoil him far more than the House Elves ever did us."
"Don't be too sure- Mina always found a way to sneak you those chocolates…"
"Yes, but I asked her very politely," Narcissa replied with a sniff.
"I asked politely too!" Andromeda protested. "I'm telling you, that elf spoiled you rotten. Just because you were the youngest, you got special treatment from all the House Elves."
"I am certain that House Elves do not treat human children any different based on their birth order." Narcissa smiled. "I am correct, am I not, Draco?"
"How would I know that?" Draco asked, his amusement evident in his voice. "I was, after all, an only child."
Hermione snorted. "The elves spoiled him rotten."
Andromeda nodded approvingly. "I like her," she said. "Not just because she was an Order member, but also because she'll keep Draco down to earth."
"Hey!" Draco protested. "I'm down-to-earth!"
"Love, you spent thirty minutes fixing your hair this morning. And all the while, you were reciting what could go wrong with today. You are not down-to-earth."
Narcissa chuckled. "That does sound like my son," she said. "I'm glad you two are still getting along, Hermione."
"Your son's a handful, but I'm trying my best," Hermione replied.
"He certainly is. But he can't be more work than Teddy." Narcissa glanced down at her grand-nephew. "Speaking of Teddy, perhaps we should give him his ice cream?"
"Yes, we probably should," Andromeda said. "Teddy is a lot, but having a grandchild is absolutely splendid." She glanced at Narcissa. "Are you expecting any grandchildren?"
"Not yet…" Narcissa said, glancing at Draco and Hermione. "But I wouldn't refuse any which might happen to appear."
"Mother," Draco groaned, shaking his head. Hermione, too, was blushing, but neither Andromeda nor Narcissa were surprised when, a few months later, the young couple announced that they were expecting a baby girl.
"Do you know what you'll name her?" Andromeda asked.
"Aurora," Hermione said, smiling. "From the Roman goddess of dawn and new beginnings."
.oOo.
A few years later, after a huge family lunch, as Andromeda and Narcissa sipped tea while the others went to the park, Andromeda turned to her sister.
"Cissy… Do you know what day it is? "
"November 4th." Narcissa's voice was purposefully mild.
"Which is…?"
"The fourth day of november. The three-hundred and eighth day of the year. It's - "
"-Bella's birthday." Andromeda's voice held regret, and sadness.
Narcissa's grip on her teacup tightened. "She's hardly around to celebrate it, is she?"
"I-I just wonder if things could've been different… Perhaps-"
"Things were not different, however. She was a monster, in the end." There was no sense in wishing things could have been different, the past was the past.
"I know."
"No, Andy. She was truly a monster. She-"
"I know, Cissy. She killed my daughter."
Narcissa turned to her sister, hardly daring to believe what she had just heard. "I-I'm so sorry. I never knew," she said tentatively.
Andromeda smiled sadly as tears began to fall from her eyes. "Sometimes, I wonder if, in saving Bella, I could've saved Dora. Perhaps, if I had been there for her when we were younger, she would have never turned to the dark..."
Narcissa shook her head, wrapping her arms around her sister. "She was deranged, Andromeda. You could never do anything."
After a few moments of silence, Andromeda spoke again. "I'm so happy I have you again. Draco too. Family is the most important thing in the world."
Narcissa nodded, a small but strong smile on her lips. "Family, first and foremost, forever."