I love challenges that make me write about new people!

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Andromeda sat by the Black Lake. Her hands were clamped around her knees as she stared absently into space. It had been nearly four months since the final battle and the sounds of the earnest rebuilding efforts reached her ears. Hogwarts was ready to reopen the following morning and everyone was scrambling to finish the restoration of the castle. Andromeda hadn't offered to help. She had become withdrawn and silent for the past few months, devoting herself to little Teddy's care.

The thought of the little boy almost brought tears to her eyes again. She wiped them away firmly. She was tired of crying, she didn't have the energy for it anymore. She just wanted to go home and curl up in Ted's favourite chair with Dora's favourite shawl and yes, even Remus' favourite book. She missed them; she missed her family so much. It wasn't fair that almost all of the few people who loved her should be taken away from her at once. It wasn't fair that she should never get to have a proper family. She'd been disowned by the Blacks and now this. She had no one left.

She came to Hogwarts at least once every day. Since she wouldn't be allowed in as often while the term was going on, she had taken the opportunity to sit by the lake that day and say goodbye to her daughter. She felt closest to Dora here at Hogwarts, closer even than at her grave. This was the place her little girl had grown up and enjoyed herself most. This was where Dora had been lived.

"You always loved sitting out here. You enjoyed the privacy it gave you and Ted Tonks."

Andromeda turned her head away from the familiar voice that broke into her thoughts. She heard Narcissa settle herself on the grass beside her but she continued to ignore her. "The last time we were here, you were saying goodbye. You were going to get married to Ted Tonks in a week and you got Bella and me to meet you here," Narcissa said after a few minutes.

Andromeda turned to face her, looking straight into Narcissa's eyes. "I'm saying goodbye now as well, Narcissa. I'm saying goodbye to my daughter," she said, her voice hard. "The difference between then and now is that this time, I'm actually saying goodbye to someone who loved me. But the parting that happened then is as permanent as the one that I'm going through now." She turned her back to the blonde woman firmly, waiting for the rustle of the grass that would indicate that she had left.

"I'm not leaving, Andromeda. I'm still as stubborn now as I was when I was eight and you tried to force me into that horrible, lacy green dress." Narcissa settled herself more firmly on the ground.

Why was Narcissa doing this to her? Andromeda wondered. Couldn't Narcissa see she wanted nothing to do with any of the Blacks anymore? Couldn't she see that she was only reminding her of Bellatrix, the sister who'd killed her daughter? Andromeda had tried her best the past few months not to remember either of her sisters. She had been quite fond of little Narcissa who looked up to her all the time. One of the reasons she'd never wanted to be part of the Order was because she knew wouldn't be able to fight Narcissa. She would always remember her as the little blonde girl with the big blue eyes who would beg her to read her one of those Muggle fairytales or braid her hair into unladylike pigtails when their mother wasn't watching. Bellatrix, however, had been cold and cruel even when they'd been growing up. Bella had never let her two younger sisters enjoy themselves; she had always tried to spoil their fun.

And now she'd spoiled Andromeda's whole life.

"I don't want you to stay," snapped Andromeda.

"I'm not asking for your permission."

Andromeda whirled around, her eyes blazing. "What do you want Narcissa? You and your friends have already taken everything, everything that I held dear. You can't be here for my company, you and Bellatrix made it abundantly clear that you wanted nothing more to do with me the last time we were sitting here – the time I was saying goodbye as you so well remember."

"You obviously don't remember that time very well because if you did, you'd know that I didn't say a word. Bellatrix did all the yelling and the condescending speeches," Narcissa shot back. "I sent you a card with a narcissus attached in the evening. I'd written – "

"'I'll miss you, Andy', I remember," Andromeda sneered at her sister. "Didn't miss me so much though, did you? I haven't got so much as a Christmas card from you for the last twenty-three years. Probably been too busy plotting how to murder Harry Potter and how to purge the muggle-borns out of the world."

"I'm not one of them," protested Narcissa. She pulled her left sleeve up and displayed her bare forearm. "I'm not a Death Eater." They were both on their feet now, glaring at each other.

"But you didn't stop them either. You just stood by and watched and even let your own son join them and commit heinous crimes."

"You didn't do anything to stop them either! You weren't even in the Order!"

Andromeda stepped back, feeling as though she'd been slapped in the face. The thoughts that haunted her every day nearly overwhelmed her at that moment. She was always so Slytherin at heart, so concerned about her own safety that she had refused to join the Order. She had been so selfish that she didn't let Ted join either because she hadn't wanted him to get hurt. She didn't care about all the other husbands that might get hurt because she hadn't wanted to give up hers. She hadn't offered her own help, she'd opposed Dora joining, and she'd opposed her daughter marrying a werewolf even though it wasn't that different from her marrying a muggle-born…she hadn't done anything to stop them either. Perhaps if she had, they'd all be alive. They might all have been there with her, mourning the loss of their friends, but still together and looking forward to their new lives. It was her own fault she'd lost all her family.

Andromeda's shoulders slumped in defeat. "What do you want, Narcissa? Why are you here?" she asked tiredly.

"I want to get to know you again, Andromeda. I want to be your sister once more." She withdrew a stack of letters, neatly bound from her pocket and handed it to her older sister.

"What's this?" Andromeda asked curiously.

"Christmas cards," Narcissa replied with a wry smile. "They're letters I wanted to send you for the last twenty years. Bellatrix wouldn't let me owl them. She'd always intercept them before they reached you. I found them in her room the day she died. She's not here to steal our sweets or force us into those itchy dresses that mother wanted us to wear or tell us how to stand and sit and bully us into doing whatever she wanted anymore, Andy. The battle…well it's taught me exactly how much my family means to me and what I'd do for the people I love. I'd be honoured if you agreed to be a part of my family again. We were under trial yesterday and were pardoned under the condition that we no longer make contact with anyone known to be a Death Eater. Lucius, Draco and I have agreed that the ruling is for the best and, well, we're trying to rebuild our lives, start afresh. We've been given a chance to turn back the clock to the point where we made some bad choices and pick the right way this time. For me, that moment was when you left and Bella began controlling every aspect of my life. But it's different this time, Andy. She's the one that's gone now."

Andromeda was silent for a while. "It's going to take time. I won't be able to just jump back in and trust you again."

Narcissa nodded. "I just want another chance. I'll agree to whatever you want to get it."

Andromeda extended her hand. "I'll see you again soon I suppose."

Narcissa nodded again and shook the proffered hand. "I'll send you an owl."

Three days later…

Andromeda strolled around the grounds, a glass of Butterbeer in her hands. The war memorial on the Hogwarts grounds had been finally inaugurated. It stood out on the lawn, but Andromeda found that strangely appropriate. Everyone who had died fighting deserved to be well-known, not hidden away amidst dusty records of death in a mouldy old library. A wall had been built beside the monument. It was plastered on both sides with snapshots. She looked up at the photographs pinned to the wall. They were mostly memories of all the martyrs. A flash of colours caught her eye. A lump rose in her throat again as she gazed at a photo of Dora on her last day of Auror training, her hair changing colours quickly to reflect her happy mood.

Andromeda moved around to the other side of the wall quickly. This side of the wall was labelled "New Beginnings". The photos were of people meeting, talking and smiling; happy to be alive. New friendships and relationships were depicted here, the general feeling of hopefulness for a fresh start evident as the theme. Her eyes settled on one photo in the corner. It was a candid shot of herself and Narcissa shaking hands by the Black Lake.

For the first time in weeks, Andromeda smiled properly. Narcissa was right. Everyone had been given a second chance to rebuild their lives and make the right choices, including her.

If it really was her fault and a result of her bad choices that she'd lost her family twice, perhaps this was her chance to finally get it right.


Please do leave me a review, it would make my day! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, especially any constructive criticism you'd like to give :)

This was written for round one of the Fanfiction Wizard Tournament Competition on HPFC using the prompts "withdrawn", "slapped in the face" and "Black Lake".