Chapter 9: Acceptance
Bellatrix was silent as her sister led her into the bedroom. She sat herself down on the bed and wrapped one of the blankets around her body.
"You wait here," Narcissa commanded, "and I'll go and fetch you a cool washcloth." Narcissa remembered the warmth of her sister's head compared to the chill of her body. She was beginning to feel rather worried about Bellatrix's health. After all, she had brought her sister home because she believed the rough life was causing her to become mentally and physically unstable. It unsettled her that the situation had only seemed to worsen now that Bellatrix was home.
She studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror as she ran the tap cold to soak the cloth. Her eyes were dark and the small lines in her face looked more pronounced than normal. The last few days had been very stressful, and she realised she had sentenced herself to a stressful life by harbouring a fugitive – although it pained her to think of it like that. I'm taking care of my sister, she thought, like she always took care of me. She sighed as she made her way back to the bedroom where Bellatrix sat waiting expectantly.
Narcissa pushed her sister to lie down on the bed so that she could place the cloth over her forehead.
"You should rest now," she said softly.
Bellatrix shook her head and gripped Narcissa's arm tightly. Her sharp nails dug into the younger witch's pale skin.
"No! Don't think you can weasel your way out of this, Cissy!" she cried. "You cannot allow me to overhear such a thing and presume I will just... accept it!"
"I know you won't, Bella. Everything is an argument with you."
"And with good reason," she muttered. "Coming to find me is one matter. I may be in hiding, but at least I'm still your sister. Unlike her," she choked out.
"Bella! You know that Andromeda has always been our sister!" Narcissa was furious. It had been difficult enough for her to overcome the guilt that had been silently gnawing at her for years. She knew it would be even harder to convince her eldest sister that it had been the right thing to do. "Besides, you know better than anyone. Black blood is more than just... blood. There's a special bond that links us all."
"But don't you remember, Cissy? The night the Mudblood teacher was killed, here in this house... remember His words?" Bellatrix's eyes seemed to light up ever so slightly as she recalled the words of the Dark Lord, but her tone was dry and apathetic. "Many of our oldest family trees become a little diseased over time..."
"Stop it, Bella," replied Narcissa sharply. "I won't have you speaking of those times in my house. Our family has worked hard enough to assure the wizarding community that we have moved on since the War. I didn't bring you home to tarnish that."
"Regardless," Bellatrix breathed, "you know she was a traitor."
Narcissa hung her head. "I believed that for a very long time. Maybe I still believe it today, but I have forgiven her. I feel that we treated her so harshly for something as pure as love..."
Bellatrix scoffed. "Pure! The last word I would use to describe that relationship."
"She must have loved him as much as any human being can possibly love another," Narcissa whispered, "because she loved him enough to leave us."
Both sisters were silent momentarily as they remembered the closeness they had all once shared. Of course, three young sisters of a similar age were bound to be close, but Narcissa was right. There had always been a special bond, one shared exclusively by the Black sisters. To be raised in the manner that those of the purest families were raised, with such strict guidance... to be assured that you are so far superior to your peers that you never truly fit in... to be respected, although it always seemed that you were feared... those sisters were bound to form a special bond that could never truly break. Their personalities complemented each other perfectly. Fierce and headstrong, passionate and brave, demure and devoted. They had always been there for each other, and managed to create a warm and open environment within such a domineering and stifling household. They themselves had believed they would continue to support each other as they grew older, but life had taken a different course.
"You mustn't believe for a moment that the three of us will ever be reunited," Bellatrix whispered, breaking the silence.
"It is not impossible – "
"It is completely impossible. Don't be so ridiculous," Bellatrix snapped.
Narcissa swallowed and her eyes swam with tears. "She seems to have forgiven me quite readily – "
"I killed her daughter!" Bellatrix sat bolt upright. "I murdered her daughter in cold blood. You are naive enough to think that our sister - " she spat the word, " - who we always knew valued love of all kinds above even her own blood, would be willing to forgive the person who murdered her own child!"
"Yet you still don't regret it?" Narcissa cried. "Not at all?"
"Not in the way you hope that I do," she muttered, and the look in her eyes told Narcissa that the matter was closed, at least for the time being.
"Well, I want you to know that regardless of your views on the matter, I am determined to rebuild my relationship with my sister," she declared. "In fact, after bringing you some food that you hardly deserve, I'll be writing her another letter." She stood up with her posture perfectly upright, wiped hastily at her eyes and marched out of the room.
x
An hour later, while Narcissa was downstairs busily composing her letter to Andromeda, the eldest and darkest Black was clutched heaving over the marble sink in the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the basin, mixed with salty tears and the precious blood she was so endlessly proud of.
The sun was shining through the clouds over Diagon Alley, and the usual Saturday crowds were bustling around cheerfully. As always, young children pressed their faces up against the colourful displays in the windows, their breath fogging up the glass. Parents navigated their way through the crowds in order to buy the wares they had journeyed to purchase, but could not help being tempted sometimes and could be seen gazing into the windows with a more distant sort of longing. The War was still fresh in all of their minds and they found it more difficult than their children to carry on with the same zest for life. Andromeda Tonks was one such parent, and she clutched onto Teddy's small hand tightly as they wove their way through the people.
"Granny!" he squealed, and pointed towards the chaotic exterior of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. "Can we, can we, can we? Please!"
Andromeda stifled a sigh as she looked inside the windows to the frenzy of young people inside. The building was crowded and put together rather haphazardly, not unlike the Weasley home. It was endearing but slightly claustrophobic, and definitely not one of Andromeda's favourite shops. However, it was a nice opportunity to say hello to George Weasley or any of his siblings who might be visiting or helping out, and she couldn't refuse the delighted look on her grandson's face.
"Alright, Teddy, but not for too long! And keep holding my hand at all times," she warned, as they squeezed their way through the entrance, almost knocking over a stand of trick wands. As soon as they were in the midst of the shop, Teddy pulled free from his grandmother's grasp and raced off into the crowds.
"Teddy! Come back here now!" Andromeda cried hopelessly, and made to chase after him before she was stopped by a tall redheaded man.
"Not to worry, Mrs Tonks!" he beamed. "This sort of thing happens all the time, I'm sure you can imagine. We have a system in place!" He kept a reassuring hand on her shoulder as he gestured around the shop. Andromeda was relieved to see a large team of staff positioned at every corner and patrolling around the room. Each employee was dressed in a bright orange uniform and was fitted with a very strange metal contraption over their ear.
"Muggle technology," he admitted, foreseeing her question. "Dad's suggestion, actually. We can communicate with each other through them! So we pass on a description of the customer and they are located almost instantly." He patted the device on his remaining ear and gave her another reassuring smile. "Just ask any of us when you want to find him. In the meantime, you may be interested in our newest range of novelty housework and cleaning items!"
Andromeda laughed as George whisked her over to the shelf containing the products, before he was called away by a buzz from the earpiece with an apologetic smile. She browsed the various comical appliances absentmindedly, only pausing when a pink wastebasket burped out a crumpled lolly wrapper at her. She jumped backwards in surprise and felt herself collide with somebody behind her. Quickly, she turned to apologise, and found herself face-to-face with a tall, sharply dressed young man with icy grey Malfoy eyes and attractive Black facial features. There was no mistaking her nephew, although she had never met him once in his whole life. He stared at her in shock, his jaw hanging slightly open.
"Draco?" she gasped without thinking. He flinched slightly and his eyes seemed to bore into her.
"And you... you must be, ah... Mrs Tonks, isn't it?" he stammered, although they both knew that he was perfectly aware of who Andromeda was. The family resemblance was far too striking to be missed. Andromeda was fairer and more pleasant looking than Bellatrix, but they looked so alike they could have been twins. Narcissa may have been blonde with sharper features but still was unmistakably a Black sister.
Andromeda held out a trembling hand and smiled at him nervously. He took her hand and shook it once, gazing at her with curiosity rather than returning the smile.
"You're so grown up," she laughed weakly. Draco nodded and avoided her eyes, looking slightly ashamed. He looked as if he might say something, before a pretty brunette woman rushed up to him. Draco's face brightened up at the sight.
"Draco, I bought one!" she giggled, holding out a creature that resembled a purple ball of fluff and was buzzing softly. "Isn't it silly?" She paused as she noticed Andromeda still standing in front of Draco and was startled at first, before composing her facial features into a pleasant smile. The older witch knew it was her resemblance to Bellatrix that shocked people, as it was a reaction she received almost daily.
"Mrs Tonks, this is my fiancée Astoria." He smiled for the first time in their encounter. Andromeda held her hand out once more.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Astoria grinned, as she shook the older witch's hand. "So, you must be..."
"She's my aunt," Draco interrupted, and his cheeks flushed. Andromeda looked up at him, surprised, and a warm feeling flooded through her chest. She smiled at him gratefully. There was no better feeling at the moment than to have her estranged nephew accept her into his life so readily, even if it was to simply avoid an awkward public conversation. The corners of his lips tugged upwards into a small smile in return.
Astoria could sense there was something unusual between her fiancée and his aunt. "I think I'm going to go look at these fireworks over here," she muttered, and wandered off after giving Draco a quick peck on the cheek. The remaining pair stood uncomfortably for a moment before Andromeda spoke.
"I don't know if your mother has told you, but the two of us recently began exchanging letters." It was apparent from the surprise on her nephew's face that Narcissa had not yet spoken of it. "I can't help but wonder exactly what prompted her to begin the correspondence, and I fear that she may have been rather lonely."
Draco nodded sadly. "The Malfoys... well, we don't exactly have a lot of friends these days. My father also seems rather withdrawn, and ever since I left home she would have been spending a lot of time on her own."
"We may have been out of contact for a very long time, but I still care about my sister. Forgive me for offering you advice so soon, but I think you would do well to pay a visit to Narcissa."
"I will make sure to do so," he assured her. "And, Mrs Tonks..."
"Please, you may call me Andromeda."
"Well, Andromeda... it has been nice to meet you," he revealed, again blushing slightly. He bowed his head to her politely as he backed away to pursue his fiancée.
Once located, Astoria whispered in his ear, "I thought she married a muggle-born?" and he shrugged his shoulders.
"She may have been a blood traitor... but she's family, I guess."
Andromeda chuckled to herself as she made her way towards an employee. That was probably the most she could hope for when meeting her nephew for the first time. It seemed as if she might have some blood family left after all.
"Excuse me, I'm looking for my grandson?"
The assistant smiled eagerly. "A description, ma'am?"
"He's very small, bounces a lot, and he's wearing a blue woollen jumper and grey trousers," she recalled. "When I last saw him, he had shaggy black hair and bright blue eyes, but that's prone to changing!" She laughed at the confused look on the assistant's face, but after a quick message was broadcast, Teddy was brought to her by a different assistant in only a minute. His little hands were clutching a bundle of products to his chest and he looked up at her eagerly.
"Please, Granny?"
"Of course, love."
She held him close as they once more worked their way through the crowd.
"Oh, by the way, Astoria," Draco declared as the couple strolled through the now quieting town, "I'd like to visit my mother for lunch tomorrow."
"You'll have to send her an owl tonight, then."
"What, can't your new little pet do anything useful?" he teased, and the sound of her laughter echoed through the street. The sun began to set on yet another peaceful day in the wizarding world.
Longest chapter yet. Hope you enjoyed! Review to receive internet hugs and cupcakes and other nice things. Thank you :)
