Disclaimer: The characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling and her assigns.
There was something almost beautiful about the harmonic cacophony that comprised the House-elf memorial service. Lyall came to the place at the time he was instructed and joined Andromeda and Harry where they stood to the side. The three were simply witnesses to something that wasn't quite in a language they knew and didn't have a discernible beginning or end. There was a sort of musicality about it as well as almost a ballet as the small boxes were laid in the ground and the earth replaced.
A point in time came when the elves came and surrounded Andromeda, thanking her for the honor of having their families in the Black plot. One or two asked to work in Mistress Black's house, and she said she would discuss it at the reception. Andromeda and Harry had arranged for refreshments at the Grimmauld Place house, and pops of Disapparation started to be heard. Harry was one of the first to leave. Lyall and Andromeda decided to wait until the cemetery had cleared out in case any details remained.
"Well, Miss, I see you continue to go against your own family in favor of lesser forms of life."
Lyall watched Andromeda's face blanch. Then she straightened her posture and looked a little taller as she turned to address the speaker. "Mother, I've done nothing wrong." He turned and looked at what had become of one of the women he'd known as girls at Hogwarts. Druella Rosier had been very pretty, and Druella Black was still quite handsome, but lacked the loveliness she'd somehow passed on to her daughter. "How did you know to find me here?"
Druella waved a hand. "A person cannot have breakfast any more without hearing about the wonderful Mistress Black." She leaned in and frowned. "You've gone against generations of family tradition."
"I've been over the records, mother. The Blacks who laid out this plot always intended for this section to belong to their family House-elves."
"Your Aunt Walburga is probably turning over in her grave."
"Shall we dig her up to check? I think I have the magical authority..."
"You were always one to say something inappropriate..." Druella switched to something else. "I see you've picked up with a new wizard. Hello, Lyall, it's been a long, very long time, hasn't it?" To her daughter, "He's a little old, isn't he?"
Andromeda sighed, "Well, we can't all seduce 13 year olds, mother, and anyway, Lyall is not here as though we're on a date. He's my grandson's grandfather on the other side. Surely you knew that."
Druella's eyes narrowed and she hissed, "Your father and I are not part of this conversation. Since you removed yourself from the family tree, your progeny is no concern of mine, and anyway, I wasn't that much older."
"I'm clearly not removed from the family tree according to the spells established in the old days, and therefore my progeny matters, too."
"We're not sure you're really the head. The family is sure something is amiss, and the lawyers are looking into it."
It was Andromeda's turn to nod. "And until such time as your lawyers find an error, I'm the head, and I'm sure you've noticed the family property recognizes me as such. I have no intention in interfering, mother, unless truly necessary. Sirius left Harry the London house, so it needs to be made ready for its future. And you were of age, Mother. Really."
Druella's eyes narrowed in a way Lyall found familiar since living for a month and a half at Andromeda's house. "Narcissa was right and there's no talking to you." She went through the cemetery gate and then they no longer saw her.
"I'm sorry about that," said Andromeda. "I wish I could say her animosity was all about Ted, but I never pleased her when I was engaged to Lucius, either."
"I remember her from Hogwarts," said Lyall. "I don't know if there was anything that ever pleased a Rosier."
Andromeda turned with an impish smirk on her face and they shared a laugh until they noticed a young man walking toward them. He was a slender young man, very fair and quite blond. He looked a bit nervous but determined. As he reached them, he cleared his throat.
"Aunt Andromeda?"
She peered at him in confusion and then took a deep breath in recognition. "You must be Draco!" She reached with both hands to shake one of his. "How is your mother?"
He blushed and mumbled. "Mother's fine. She thinks you're wrong about pretty much everything. They couldn't stop talking about this memorial service, which is how I knew where to find you today. I need to talk to you as the head of the family."
Andromeda glanced sideways at Lyall. "And I just told my mother that I wouldn't interfere in family business any more than I need to." She turned back to Draco. "Tell me all about it and we'll see if I can figure out a way to help." She looped her hand through his arm and they walked toward the entrance gate.
Draco had likely been taught to offer his arm to ladies; at least he took her familiarity in stride. He cleared his throat again and started in. "With dad in Azkaban, mother is feeling pressure to 'see me settled' as she calls it."
Lyall watched Andromeda reach for her pearls. "Oh dear," she said, "I hate that expression."
"She's trying to make a contract between me and Pansy Parkinson for marriage."
"You're awfully young, and I take it Pansy isn't your first choice?"
"I don't think so, no."
"Is there a first choice?" Draco blushed, and she didn't push it. "I see. So if, as head of the family, I were to direct that, for example, you couldn't be contracted until you were twenty-one, and that in the intervening time you needed to go on dates with at least three young women, would you be able to meet the terms of that arrangement?"
He nodded. "We're hoping that father will be out of prison soon, so by the time I'm twenty-one many things could happen."
Andromeda patted his arm. "Tell your mother that I suggest this. Hopefully we won't need to do anything official."
He smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Aunt Andromeda." He turned and started walking away.
"Oh, and Draco-" he turned back and Andromeda continued- "if she balks, point out to your mother that your father wasn't ever contracted to marry her. If she gives you the slightest trouble after that, send me an owl and we'll fix it all up properly." He looked curious, but he nodded and went on his way.
"Well," said Andromeda to Lyall, "That's more of my family than I can stand in one outing. It appears that everything is properly clear here at the cemetery. Shall we go to Harry's house?"
It rained for the next several days, and one evening they finished their various daily tasks to find themselves in the sitting room with the record player. Lyall brought down a stack of Alphard's records and Andromeda looked through them and put a few on. He heard the opening strains of "Begin the Beguine" and stood to take her hand. She quickly pulled out her wand with her other hand and shifted some of the furniture.
"Foxtrot?" he asked.
"It's your choice. As the gentleman, you lead," she answered, before looking at him and saucily adding, "on the dance floor."
He laughed, and they both made a couple of false starts before getting properly started.
"Speaking of your leadership of the household..."
"Hmm?"
"Did you choose from the offers you received?" Several House-elves had surrounded her at Harry's house, offering to serve "Mistress Black at Black House," as they said it.
"I hate to form that sort of bond. It doesn't seem right. Harry's friend-you know the one with the hair?"
He nodded, "Hermione."
"Yes, that one. She's working out a way I can pay one or perhaps a few of them in turns. I don't have much money to spare for that, but perhaps we can come up with something equitable. I can not own them, not after my own experiences."
"Which ones, then?"
"The little one called Whisper for sure. Kreacher seemed to trust her the most, and in speaking with them, she seems the most competent. In fact, she insists on coming over tomorrow to see if we suit."
"I can probably add more to the budget if it's wanted. It sounds like a good idea, with Harry and his friends in and out of the house, and Teddy becoming more active."
The record changed to something a little slower. He recognized "Moonglow" and although she moved to dance closely, he stiffened his spine and forced them into a more proper stance.
"They used to tell my generation at Hogwarts that we need enough space for the Fat Friar between us," he said in a confidential tone.
"Mmm hmm," she answered with a small laugh without looking up. "Us, too." She sounded a little choked.
"Is something the matter?" He used his right hand to tip her chin up and saw tears in her eyelashes. "My dear, what is it?"
She shrugged and quietly said, "It's nothing, really. I didn't realize it would hit me like this. At least, it's not for me to cry over it."
He tipped his head down to catch her eye. "You can tell me."
"It's just that I've always associated this song with Remus, even when he and my cousin were kids coming over in search of an extra meal. I mean, here he was, he had this big problem in his life, but he handled it so smoothly, as if it was just seasonal allergies or something. He was always so cheerful about it."
Fat Friar be damned, he pulled Andromeda close. Hypocritically, he couldn't let her see the tears in his own eyes. "That's down to Hope, I suppose. She was able to accept that not only was her son magical but that he also had this terrible condition. Even before there was a reliable Wolfsbane potion, she was after me to find books she could look through to find ways to make it as easy as possible on him, and there was always a celebration the day after the full moon. She was just as her name describes... full of hope. She was sure that new and better ways to manage the lycanthropy would come along if not cure it entirely."
"Oh, that's lovely!" she said.
"It really is... or was."
"I think it still is. Surely they're together, now."
"You may be right," he said.
"Moonlight Serenade" came on next and he found that, given the way she was essentially hugging him, he could tuck his chin into the top of her head.
A/N: The Black Family Tree is full of cringeworthy information. There is a lot of discussion in the fandom about several fathers being quite young when their firstborn children are born. I think most of the time we're supposed to ignore the dates, but it suits me to acknowledge them this time around.