Outtake scene - Strength

The floo flared up in a warm shade of yellowish green, and a woman's face appeared in the flames. "Andromeda?" she called. "May I come through?"

"Mom! Someone's calling!"

The housewife swiped her wand at the dishes that now dropped into the sink, the clamour of them clinging against each other while washing themselves ending suddenly. "Yes, Nymphadora?"

"Floo!"

Andromeda cast a quick cleaning charm on herself as she walked into the living-room, then she froze on the monochrome carpet and gaped, "Cissa?"

"Meda, oh, it's you! May I come through, please?"

"Cissa, sister! How are you, Cissy? Sorry it's such a mess, I wasn't expecting anyone, but you've seen my room when I was ten..."

"I never cared then."

"You did. But please, yes, come through! I didn't expect to ever see you again!"

The two witches hugged each other, for the first time in maybe two decades, then Narcissa Malfoy looked around and exclaimed, "You haven't changed one bit, 'Meda!"

"Oh, stop your criticism!" Andromeda replied, but they both knew she meant the exact opposite: her younger sister could throw around remarks all day if it meant her staying for a little longer. Narcissa smiled indulgently at her, then scourgified the sofa instead of asking for permission to sit down.

"Lucius will be furious if he finds out that I came, but the Board is in session about the usual DADA business, so he won't be back anytime soon."

"Is it usual for them to have hired a war criminal?" Andromeda inquired with a solemn face. "Oh sorry. Last year it was your never-dying Dark Lord."

"Lucius knew. Grindelwald, I mean. He suggested it to Dumbledore, or so he says."

"Nymphadora swears it was a good idea." the hostess replied, summoning a basket of home-made cakes for the visitor. "Have you ever met her?"

"Where would I have?"

"Nymphadora! Come down, please!" her mother bellowed. "I have seen Draco at King's Cross of course, but I didn't want to impose on you and you clearly were distracted..." What went unsaid was that Narcissa didn't appear to want any sort of interaction with a disowned sister and her tainted family.

"Draco is growing into a wonderful young man, if a mother can say as much."

Tripping on the last stair and catching herself on the railing in the last moment, Nymphadora arrived, with her usual bubblegum-pink hair and unmistakable face. "Good morning, Mrs Malfoy," she cheerfully said. "Before mom can say the opposite, please call me Tonks."

"But you have such a beautiful name, darling..."

"But it sounds too poncey," she explained, her hair turning royal blue and knee-long for a moment. "I wouldn't mind if somebody else had it instead."

"Please, when we're in private, just call me Cissa like your mother does," the visitor offered. "And did I just see your wonderful talent?"

"I'm a metamorphmagus," Tonks replied in a deep male voice while transfiguring her features into those of her muggle grandfather. "I heard it must have come from some very long forgotten wizarding ancestors, and if it's not my Black side, we can only guess at the others."

"Sprout says Ted must be a squib descendant of a family talented in self-transfiguration, even if they weren't metamorphmagi." Andromeda added. "Who can tell?"

"Everyone's just making all sorts of guesses," the girl shrugged. "Mrs Ma... Cissa, I suppose you came to see mom, so I won't hang around. Mom can tell you about the pile of assignments I received two days ago."

"I don't wish to hold you up, my dear niece," the visitor replied most politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Better late than never," Tonks smiled, taking on her appearance, earning a gasp. Then she fell over as she turned around, because copying Narcissa's regal bearing didn't beat her own clumsiness. She quickly righted herself and hurried upstairs again, mostly because she wanted to leave her mother and aunt (did Narcissa count as her aunt if her mother had been disowned?) to talk among themselves, and also because she was certain she'd be the one they'll talk about and even behind her back she loathed to be referred to as Nymphadora. So she settled in her reading nook and continued with the articles and case studies she'd been sent.

In the living room, the two sisters spent the next hours catching up with each other and exchanging news about people they had lost contact with. They ate all of Andromeda's cookie reserve, then Narcissa summoned the Malfoy family elf to bake some more. It was only after the new set was done that Narcissa remembered to tell the tiny creature never to mention to Lucius Malfoy that he'd seen her with her disowned sister. The elf panicked, how was he supposed to lie to his master?

"Well, the damage is already done," Andromeda sighed. "Cissa, there's only one thing you can do if you want to keep this quiet." She summoned one of her least favourite hats, a tall green cone with yellow and black ribbons on the top.

Narcissa paled, understanding she had to choose. It was either facing the disdain of the pureblooded society, or giving up the comfort that comes with owning a house elf. Lucius wouldn't be happy, but it was her choice to determine which would make her husband's day worse.

In the end, it wasn't hard to decide. Her prestige was worth more than an irritating, overly talkative creep. "Dobby," she called, "I want you to fake your death and never return to Malfoy Manor again. Especially not when my husband summons you."

With that, she placed Andromeda's hat on the elf's bald head, so that only the large nose could be seen from the miserable creature. Then she did her best to ignore the happy dance and joyous calls of freedom, both of which Andromeda seemed to find quite amusing.