November 30, 1981
Tonks Residence, Salisbury
Narcissa wrinkled her nose as she settled onto Andromeda's mauve couch, eyeing the morning tea spread laid out on the clear glass coffee table before her. "How incredibly…. Modern."
"I restyled last winter for the fun of it- I have an interior designer out of Italy who likes to keep me ahead of the most recent trends." Andromeda smiled pleasantly from her seat in a patterned wingback chair, the tight grip on her teacup her only outward sign of tension.
"Muggle trends, you mean," Narcissa clarified, as if the weight of that first word might knock sense into her sister.
But Andromeda just nodded an easy agreement.
"Certainly- much quicker to change their mind on what is and isn't vogue, muggles are. And I do hate to be… unfashionably outdated. What prompted your visit, Cissy?"
Narcissa smiled with her lips pressed tightly together as she ignored the barb. "It's simply been a long time since we've been able to visit one another, Meda. It seemed like I should rectify that."
"Lie one- I'll give you four more before I kick you out of my house." Andromeda was so cheerful in her threat that Narcissa had to think for a moment to catch it.
"Why, I never! I'm sure I don't know what you-,"
"Lie two- only three left Narcissa, best use them wisely. Really, I know that silvered tongue works on most people, but I've always found you quite transparent."
Narcissa rolled her eyes. "Hardly- If I was so transparent, I wouldn't have convinced you and Bella that you'd been stealing one another's pudding, would I have? You didn't see through that till you'd yanked each other's hair out in front of Grandmother."
Andromeda's faint wince was proof that her grandmother's punishment for unladylike behavior over pudding of all things was still deeply felt. "Do wind around back to the point, would you Cissy?"
"We selected a new Head of House Black- Grandfather Pollux's sister Aunt Cassiopeia. The swot who took over Chateau Black? Before she did the Materfamilias ritual, she claimed she could save the family from ruin. I thought she was a safe enough bet- a strong House Black can only advantage my son- so I voted for her over Uncle Arcturus." Narcissa looked faintly uncomfortable, as if she still wasn't quite certain she had made the right decision but was going to claim she had till her dying day.
Believable- Andromeda had no doubt that the youngest of the infamous Black sisters was more uncomfortable with plain fact than than the fiction she had planned to spin.
"Cassiopeia's plan for the family apparently revolves around fixing our public image- and if you read the papers at all, you'll see she's already started quite the uproar. You should have also seen that Wally murdered her husband- Aunt Cassiopeia plans to use the funeral as a publicity stunt. And since she is going for a better image, I suggested that she bring some family members with less than desirable connections back into the fold."
"Lie three- two left."
Without missing a beat: "And since she is going for a better image, she suggested that I help her bring some family members with less than desirable connections back into the fold. "
Much better.
"Aunt Cassiopeia's found a new heir for the Black name- with my assistance of course- and plans to announce her to the family at the funeral. I wanted to make sure to visit beforehand, so you could join us."
"That one was painfully obvious- getting less sharp with age? Only one lie left now Narcissa."
"Aunt Cassiopeia's found a new heir for the Black name- who I have met once- and plans to announce her to the family at the funeral. She asked me to make sure you would join us for the occasion.".
Certainly more believable. Andromeda wondered a bit at the word 'asked'- Cissy detested being asked to do things- but decided to let the explanation pass. Might as well leave her sister a shred of her pride.
"So Aunt Cassiopeia has decided to press her only advantages, has she? I'd be interested to know more, but I'm guessing she hasn't entrusted you with more, has she? You were on the wrong side of the war after all." Andromeda sighed irritably as her baby sister bristled.
"Lucius was cleared of all-,"
"Really, Narcissa, have some tea, you look positively peaky."
"Aunt Cassiopeia did cut off Bella- though the whole world seems to know that by now. And she's been playing with the family tree for weeks now." Narcissa threw out the tidbit with all the graciousness of a buzzing bee, torn between her desire to snap back and her goal of making nice with her sister.
"Old news, that. Aunt Cassiopeia does understand I am a package deal?"
Narcissa grimaced. "She quite insists that you be."
"Interesting, and more interesting yet I suppose. Well, I'll come, if only to see how twisted your knickers get seeing Ted at a formal Black family function. I will remind you once, and you must pass this along: I took my own name off that family tapestry once, and if I don't like the new direction House Black is taking I'll do it again."
Surprised out of her strained frown, Narcissa gaped. "You took your own name off? Father always claimed he did it the second he read your note. No wonder he was so pouty- you quite derived him his satisfaction. He was miserable to live with for months after."
Andromeda's laughter was cut off as Narcissa continued. "Did you ever consider that you had abandoned me to deal with our parents through the fallout of your broken engagement? Not that I blame you- I wouldn't have wanted to marry someone older than Grandfather either. But there are other- much better- ways of doing things, Meda."
Andromeda looked a tad uncomfortable. "At least me leaving meant father decided to give you whoever you wanted if it meant you marrying a pureblood- I'd say you and Lucius owe me one."
"Yes, up a husband and down the only sane sister- quite the trade off, that." Naricissa's dry comment was met with a cat like grin
"If you can forgive me for abandoning you to father's dramatics- and Bella's, Morganna knows that Bella's were probably worse- then I suppose I could concede to forgive you for letting Bella try to kill my husband. And for never sending a wedding present."
"Forgiveness, Meda? Really! How plebian of you!"
"Well, if you'd rather I tell Aunt Cassiopeia about the long list of reasons I'm much to offended by you to accept your generous invitation back into the fold-,"
"So trite! But fine- we can forgive one another. And you will all come to Orion's funeral, won't you?"
"Ted and I, certainly."
"Oh no, absolutely not- you can't leave your daughter at home!" The panic on Narcissa's face as she remembered the chest crushing press of Cassiopeia's magically enforced order was clear.
"Why Cissy, you do seem concerned- could it be you promised to get us all here and are afraid what would happen if you didn't?"
"What do you want, Meda?"
Andromeda crossed her ankles. "Two public dinners with our combined families where you and Lucius have to smile the whole time, and you call Nymphadora your "darling, beautiful niece" for the rest of your life."
"And they say Bella is the crazy one!" Narcissa's blue eyes bulged as she stared at her older sister in disbelief.
"Oh, she is. I'm the cruel one. If it's a consolation, you're definitely the devious one."
Narcissa's expression was anything but consoled as she weighed her options. Finally, "What does your hellion- I'm sorry, my darling, beautiful niece- look like anyways? Hopefully she isn't as muggle looking as her father."
"You and I both know Ted is the farthest thing from unattractive." Andromeda smirked smugly as she summoned a photo album from the shelf. "This is Nymphadora."
The photo spread began with a chubby baby with bright blue eyes and blonde curls like Ted Tonks'- but Narcissa furrowed her brow as, as she flipped pages- the child's eyes, hair, and even skin tone changed. Then her features flopped, and finally-, "Good heavens, is she a metamorphmagus?"
"Ah, you noticed then. Yes, amazing what happens when you don't inbreed for a generation, isn't it?" Andromeda was a bit smug. "The last photo is her normal daily appearance."
"Pretty- favors you of course," Narcissa said critically. "It's a shame she didn't inherit the curls past infancy, they would have been striking."
"Your darling, beautiful niece goes well out of her way to avoid curls."
Narcissa looked surprised- likely because she had spent the first half of her life jealous of her sisters' full bodied hair. (Fortunately, Lucius had reassured her half a million times that he, at least, preferred her silky straight hair over any other option.)
"Is she bright?"
Narcissa had always had a weakness for children- particularly bright, beautiful children with potential. Broadening their minds, their ambitions…. Cultivating the 'younger set' was the most Slytherin of her ambitions, and had started with her favorite dolls and cousins as a very young girl.
Andromeda was hyper aware of the cards she was putting on the table, and how they would be received.
"Of course she is- the only thing she lacks is grace."
If Narcissa was surprised Andromeda would disparage her daughter, it didn't show. Instead, she nodded thoughtfully. "I could probably do something about that."
"Could you?"
Contemplatively: "I rather wanted a girl- not that I'd trade my sweet little dragon. But you know the Malfoys- it takes more than magic to produce a second."
Long, perfectly manicured fingers tapped impatiently on the little girl's photograph.
"Alright Meda- how about this: Four dinners with both our families- at the manor, not in public- where Lucius engages your mudblood husband in conversation for precisely three minutes. In exchange, weekly tea for us and the girl where I can work on her deportment, and you all come to the funeral."
Andromeda pretended to consider the offer, privately marveling at how her younger sister's self-interests were still so easy to play off of. It was a shame Bella hadn't been so manageable- they might have been spared several bouts of theatrics.
"I'll counter- monthly dinners through 1982, with every other month taking place in a muggle location. You have to speak for Ted for 15 minutes each. In return, I'll agree to monthly tea parties and our full attendance at the funeral. I'll throw in pretending we're a happy family in front of Aunt Cassiopeia for free."
Displeased with the direction the bargain had taken, Narcissa shook her head minutely. "Monthly dinners for a year, but the ½ that take place in public have to be in a wizarding location of our choice. 10 minutes conversation per each of us with you mudblood, and in return bi-weekly teas."
"I don't know Cissy…. It doesn't seem like you'd really enjoy yourself- and I'd so hate to put you out. Are you sure it's worth it to you?"
To Andromeda's surprise, Narcissa saw clearly through her feigned hesitation. "We both know perfectly well that you'll agree to Aunt Cassiopeia's request- it's what's best for your daughter, and you've always put family first. Well, almost always."
"Unlike you, who always puts herself first? Well, almost always." Andromeda mimicked.
(Thirty years ago, Bella would have hexed them both and put their sniping to bed- but Bella had long since taken herself out of the equation.)
"It may surprise you, but I have grown up since Hogwarts- I'm not 15 and waiting for you to come home and slide into bed with me to hear my secrets anymore, Andromeda." Narcissa's voice was ice cold.
"I didn't know-,"
"Of course you didn't know! You were gone."
Andromeda laughed bitterly. "When did you ever need anyone, Cissy? Bella needed us both- no, Bella felt she needed to own us both. I spent half my time keeping her out of trouble- but you, Narcissa? You never needed anyone."
"Up one husband, down the only sane sister, remember? I did need you- you don't know how much Mother and Father were relying on your marriage to Nott, or how much Bella was using you to mellow out her temper. When you left it all came crashing down on me. And then I needed you." Narcissa stood abruptly, twirling around to stare out the window.
"I would have been there for you if you had pulled your head out of your arse and stopped being a prejudiced bint about the person I chose to love!" Andromeda huffed, but understanding was flitting over her features. "Cissy- I know you don't only care about yourself. I know you care about your family too."
Narcissa's stiff shoulders relaxed minutely. "Then I'll remind you that you and your daughter are my family. I know you get nothing but sick pleasure watching me have to interact with your mudblood husband, but-,"
"No, Cissy. You're thinking like Bella- and Morgana knows where that path leads. Yes, we are your family- but you're our family too, just like Ted is. And I may have blasted that damned family tree on my way out the door, but I haven't given up the idea of a happy family that visits at Christmas."
"That would be impossible," Narcissa murmured, but she turned back around to face her sister, reaching out a hand for the briefest second like a darting butterfly. "We'd have to celebrate Yule. Lucius is quite traditional- we have a ball and everything."
Andromeda quickly caught Narcissa's hand as it started to fall away from her. "Ok, then. Yule. We can start with monthly dinners and teas and this ridiculous funeral, and we can see about Yule after that."
"It'll be slow going. I refuse to promise to like your mudblood- to like you husband."
"I know. I just want you to be polite."
"And I still want to hex you, even if we are forgiving each other. Seriously- when did you become so common?"
"It's ok, I still want to hex you too. We probably will eventually."
"I suppose it will be good for Draco to have more cousins to play with… Even if they are half bloods. At least she's a metamorphmagus- haven't had one of those in the family for a while."
"We're certainly incredibly proud of her. I imagine when we get to know your son, we'll be proud of him too."
Taking a deep breath, Narcissa looked at her older sister with an intensity that could burn. "You still keep memories, don't you? I would hope so- since it's part of why you left."
"Of course I do." Surprised, Andromeda gestured vaguely towards a doorway with her free hand. "I've made a career of studying them, just like I said I would."
"I've memories that I'd like you to have- copies, of course. Just like you used to. Memories that maybe if you watch… maybe we can..." Incredibly uncomfortable with both her emotions and the position she found herself in, Narcissa cut herself off abruptly and looked sharply away.
"Might as well give it a shot, right?"