Chapter Twenty-Five: Reunions

Harry Potter's arrival was no true surprise. He was expected and welcome, at least to the people in this room. Despite that Narcissa could not stop an expression of shock as she stood eye to eye with her supposed enemy. He drew his wand, but did nothing: he had noticed the baby in her arms. The baby he had not even known was born. His daughter.

"Please," Narcissa spoke quickly. "No one knows we're here. It is safe, but we don't have much time."

She watched as Potter considered his options. His eyes had been fixed on her and the child the whole time. As seconds carried on it dawned upon him that should they have been out to attack him, they would have by now. He lowered his wand just slightly and nodded at the sight of first Ginny and then Draco. He noticed Lucia last, as she was laying on the sofa. Something in his gaze changed at the sight of his young wife, and he went over to her. As he dropped to his knees to take her into his arms, Narcissa couldn't help but feel her heart open to this young man that showed such obvious love for her daughter. She almost felt like an intruder to watch their reunion after months of absence.

"What's wrong with her?" Harry demanded when Lucia proved barely conscious.

"She's been very sick," Narcissa came closer, thinking it safe now that his wand was sufficiently lowered. "An infection."

"Right. Because Voldemort doesn't do proper health care?" There was an edge to Harry's voice and she could not blame him for it. Lucia's condition was absolutely unnecessary in present times. Had she been able to give birth in proper, clean circumstances she would have never become ill at all. It was a miracle the baby was doing so fine.

"She's recovering," Narcissa said. "She'll be weak for a while, but we treated her with the right antidote."

Harry said nothing more, and she was grateful he did not ask who 'we' included. She approached him further to show him the baby, carefully removing the blanket to reveal more of Zara's little face. She was just waking up, perhaps sensing the tension in her grandmother's body.

"Your daughter," she said.

Harry watched her approach cautiously at first, but when she revealed his daughter's face he could not look at anything but the baby. His first true family member.

Suddenly Narcissa found herself hoping he would succeed at whatever he had planned to end the war. She wished him a safe life with Lucia and the child. For Zara to grow up with both parents in a time of peace. In the happy family she deserved. But how likely was that? When even fully mature, experienced and highly-skilled wizards crumbled at the mere sight of the Dark Lord.

"Can I…" he looked hesitant, obviously unused to babies.

"Oh. Of course." Forgetting about their state as enemies, Narcissa reached out and laid the baby, very carefully, into his arms. "There you go," she smiled. "Just support the head."

A slow smile spread over Harry's features and it seemed the pair of them were bonded through their love of this child. He held onto Zara, clumsily, but with impressive gentleness.

"She's perfect," Harry murmured. He turned around, supposedly to look at Lucia, but Narcissa noticed him blinking away some tears.

"Lucie," he said quietly, kneeling by the sofa again with the baby. His free hand reached out to stroke Lucia's face as he gazed first at the baby, and then at her. He leaned over and pressed his lips to hers.

Roused by the familiar touch of his lips on hers, Lucia opened her eyes. She stared at Harry as if she could not believe what she was seeing.

"I'm here," Harry whispered, oblivious to the presence of the others. "I'm here Lucie," a smile broke through on his face, to which a very drowsy Lucia responded slowly.

"Harry?"

"That's right! I came back. For you. And the baby. I'm so sorry I missed it. The birth. But I've got her here now, you see?" his free arm wrapped around Lucia to help her sit up a little. This seemed to bring her back to her senses. "She's perfect, Luce. You must have been so very brave. I'm taking you and the baby home now. Back to your aunt's house."

As tears poured down Lucie's face, Narcissa turned to Draco and Ginny to give them at least a sense of privacy.

"Their reunion looks like a perfect shot for Witch Weekly", Draco grimaced. "All we need is Celestina Warbeckc singing 'A Cauldron Full of Hot , Strong Love', and the drama is complete." He spoke bravely, but the little colour he had left had drained from his face. He knew very well that if they were caught, all of them would die.

"I doubt we need any more drama," Narcissa said. She kept glancing at the clock. It was well past midnight. She was not sure how much longer she would be able to assure their safety.
"You should really go now," she finally said to Harry after giving the young family a few more moments.

Disentangling himself from Lucia's embrace, Harry stood up and nodded. "Ginny, Draco, you should go first. One of you will have to carry the baby. I can't floo Lucia and the baby." He hesitated, and then glanced at Narcissa. "Are you... coming with us?" His voice was very tentative. Perhaps he had been thinking about it from the moment he got the letter.

As odd as it may seem, Narcissa had not considered this option at all. She had just assumed, that her main goal was to get the children, the Weasley girl and the baby to safety. Saving herself had not even belonged to any of the possibilities. The question asked now sent her into confusion.

"You should come with us," Draco said, his eyes lighting up. "Mother, if you stay here you will surely be killed. They'll suspect you for sure."

"But your father?" she asked softly. "I can't leave him here." Her place, it had always been by Lucius's side. Doing whatever he told her to do. Thinking what he told her to think.

"Father will not want to join us," Draco spoke quietly.

She knew it was the truth as soon as he had said it. In fact, she had known for a while now. She had given Lucius many chances to show he was trustworthy, and he had taken none of them. It pained her greatly, for she knew he had it in him to be a better man. Throughout twenty years of marriage he had shown her bits of that man. The years they had had, they were not all bad. Somewhere down the road she had progressed to where she was now, and Lucius had remained behind. Not brainwashed like Bellatrix, but frightened. Frightened perhaps, of what he would become if he lost control again. Not giving in to one side or the other. Stuck in the middle, in the in-between, of the man he could be and the man he hated.

"I'd like to stay with my children. I'll come with you, if you'll have me." The words were spoken so very easily. They had laid there, on the tip of her tongue, ready to be finally said.

Potter, -Harry-, stared at her as if in doubt. In his eyes she saw consideration for the briefest of moments.

"I think you can trust her, Harry," came the voice of Ginny Weasley.

The word of her, a loyal member of the Order of the Phoenix, appeared to be just the encouragement Harry needed. He nodded and handed Ginny the baby while he took Lucia into his arms. Lucia was fully awake now, and held onto her husband. She looked determined to remain conscious this time.

"Ginny, Draco, you go first with the baby," Harry instructed.

They watched as first Ginny and Zara, and then Draco disappeared into the flames. With a shock Narcissa realized where they were headed: Andromeda's house. She was going to be reunited with her long-lost sister. Her first urge was to run, but she had never been the impulsive one. That was Bella's territory.

How many times had she not imagined seeing Andromeda again? Especially the first years after her departure, when the entire family seemed to consider her as good as dead. Only it was worse than death. The dead were mourned for and talked about in often loving memories. Andromeda was simply blasted off the family tree and never mentioned again by her parents or Bellatrix. Narcissa was only a child when she left, a naïve girl of sixteen. She could have used the support of her gentler sister in the first rocky years of marriage. She wondered now why she had so easily complied when she was forbidden to contact Andromeda. She could have rebelled, or operated in secret. Only she had never known such courage. Only very recently had she stepped up and began making decisions that were entirely her own. A reunion with her sister could be the very symbol of that change. She feared, however, that Andromeda would not want to see her. She could not explain any of this to Harry Potter, who stood watching her expectantly.

"I'm very grateful for what you've done," he said to her then. "Contacting me. Arranging this. It was a brave thing. I won't forget."

"It was nothing," Narcissa handed him the floo powder when he stepped up to the fireplace with Lucia in his arms. "I should have helped my children a long time ago."

The confidentiality between these two near-strangers was rather awkward, and she was relieved when Harry took the powder, named their destination, and disappeared into the flames with Lucia.

Now Narcissa alone remained in the library. Her mind might be playing tricks on her, but she thought she heard footsteps in the hallway. She gave the room one last look, wondering whether this was the last time she saw this house. This house she spent so many years with Lucius, and with the children. She had always loved Malfoy Manor.

Not wasting any more time she gathered the floo powder and followed Harry and Lucia to the safe house.

She was not sure what she had expected. Quite possibly an obvious display of hostility from her sister. The small living room was full of people, but Narcissa spotted her immediately. She was helping Harry install Lucia on the sofa while a pink-haired young woman embraced first Ginny and then Draco. In the corner stood a playpen with another baby, a bit older than Zara by the looks of it.

It was only when Narcissa stepped out of the fireplace, that people noticed her.

"It's all right," Harry spoke to the others in the room. "She can be trusted. It was really her who sent the letter. There was no one else involved."

The pink-haired woman was the only one that took out her wand. She looked so like Andromeda it had to be her daughter. "Now isn't the time to trust people easily, Harry."

"I can give you my wand," Narcissa said quietly. As much as she wanted to, now was not the time to defend herself. They were doubting her loyalty and they had every right to.

"I think that's a very good idea," said the pink-haired woman.

"And I think that's a very foolish idea, Dora." Andromeda left Lucia on the sofa and came forward to look at her sister. "Times like these we shouldn't have people going around without wands."

For the first time in a very long time the sisters stood facing each other. More than twenty years, but it could just as well have been yesterday they were separated. The worries Narcissa had had preceding their reunion washed away so easily. It was her. Not the enemy. Just her sister. Their eyes locked, and neither broke the stare.

"Dora, would you mind helping Harry put Lucia and the baby upstairs? They both need rest. Draco and Ginny can refresh themselves in the bathroom and the guest room. I'll be up shortly."

The comparison between Andromeda and Bellatrix was still very obvious, although various aspects of Andromeda's appearance were changed. Perhaps she had tried to make herself seem less like their older sister. Her once so curly hair was straightened, and it was now a lighter shade of brown. When Andromeda, or Andie as they used to call her, had left she was barely twenty. Now she was forty and fully matured, but she was still beautiful. Her features carried a gentleness to them she had always kept, despite everything.

"You haven't changed much," Narcissa said softly, when they found themselves alone together.

"I could say the same of you."

"I've changed a lot, though." Narcissa hesitated, but then she crossed the distance and embraced her sister fondly.

"You must have," Andromeda agreed. She responded to the embrace, holding her younger sister close to her. "Oh Cissy," she sighed. "Such a long time. More than twenty years."

"Twenty-one," Narcissa pointed out. "I've thought of you every day. I wish I'd had the courage to contact you."

"So do I." Andromeda pulled back from the embrace and held her at arm's length. "I wanted to, but I thought they had brainwashed you."

"They had, I think. It took a while to wake me up." The corner of her lips twitched towards a smile. There was so much more she wanted to say and talk about. "I'm so sorry about your husband."

"So am I..." Andromeda's face fell at the mention of the loss of her husband.

A forming pit in her stomach made Narcissa wonder if her sister blamed her for the loss. There was no time to discuss it further, for Harry appeared again. He looked more determined than ever.

"I have to leave," he said. "Ron and Hermione are waiting for me. I just talked to Lucie. You should all be safe here with the protective enchantments."

"Leave?" Andromeda repeated in confusion. "My dear boy, you must be mad! Dora tells me you're heading to Hogwarts. Hogwarts! If there's any place you shouldn't go right now it's Hogwarts, with the Carrows and everything. Are you mad?! You should stay here with your wife and child."

"I have a job to do." Harry's face fell at the mention of his little family, but his words were final. "Ginny's coming too once she's properly healed. Tonks is helping her and Draco. I think he's planning to come as well." When Andromeda's expression refused to soften, he sighed. "Look, Lucie's pretty upset. Maybe you can go to her, she's asking for you."

"No wonder she's upset," Andromeda said finally. "I just hope you know what you're doing." Shaking her head in disbelief, she hurried up the stairs.

But Harry was not let off the hook so easily. He still had the other sister to deal with. Narcissa was as full of incredulity, if not more so. Of course she had heard the rumours lately. Harry breaking into Gringotts. The Dark Lord's rage. Everything was building up to some sort of explosion.

"Do you know what you're doing?" she asked him. "All this risk I took to reunite the three of you. Don't let it have been in vain. I was so sure you loved my daughter. Don't you just want to be with her and the baby?"

His response showed it was the wrong thing to say entirely, but she did not understand. No one could win from the Dark Lord. It seemed pointless suicide.

"You think I don't love your daughter? You think I went away all these months camping, like some sort of holiday?" he exclaimed in fury. "I have never loved someone like I love Lucia. And I love her even more now, for giving me a family. You think I want to leave?" His voice broke at these words. "It's because of her, and the baby, that I'm going. They shouldn't be used like some sort of bait. I want Zara to be able to go to school and befriend whoever she likes. I don't want her to fear for her life. I want her to be free and grow up careless. That's why I'm doing this. And the longer I wait, the more I know of her, the harder it gets. If I don't leave now I don't know if I'll ever be able to."

"I'm sorry." Narcissa said quietly. She found herself impressed by his words, and her hope grew.

"It's okay," Harry breathed out slowly and relaxed somewhat. "I don't expect you to understand any of this. I'm not even sure I understand. But don't say I don't love your daughter."

She nodded and followed him into the hallway. "I'll do what I can to defend them. Lucia, and Zara."

With half a smile, he nodded. She watched through the window how he walked through the yard to pass the protective enchantments, before he disapparated and left them all with a strange feeling of emptiness.