Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series.
Comforting
Narcissa closed her eyes in the hopes that if she concentrated hard enough, she could block out the sound of a rising argument. Such arguments between her mother and sister seemed to become a routine this summer. Always the same, always unforgiving, always without yielding results other than slammed doors and bitter feelings, Narcissa was beginning to tire of them. However, it seemed that the slightest things would push Andromeda over the edge, taking Druella with her.
"You spend all of your time cooped up in your room when you should be concerned with securing an engagement!" Druella was shouting at Andromeda.
"Mother! It's not like I'm completely isolated; I'm writing to people everyday-"
"Yes, that is very well, Andromeda," Druella replied coolly. Then she produced the morning's post which appeared to have started this particular squabble, waving it in her daughter's face. "But I hardly expect Bellatrix to propose to you any time soon!"
"Mother, she's my sister-"
"And thus you see her nearly every other day. There is no need to spend all of your effort writing to her!"
Andromeda looked sulky, an appearance she seemed to be adopting more and more frequently. She shrugged, "I miss her."
Druella threw her hands in the air, her aggravation only increasing with every word Andromeda uttered. "I thought we had finally gotten rid of her and all you want to do is bombard her with letters! She has a life of her own now, with more responsibilities than you care to take on."
Andromeda rolled her eyes with a scoff, "Yeah, I'm expecting to be an aunt any day now."
"Hold your impudence, Andromeda. Bellatrix was lucky enough to find a man who wanted to put up with her. I'm relieved as is at her marriage, even if nothing else comes from it but that she's out of the house with the name of another prominent family settling her down."
Andromeda scowled, an expression that Narcissa rarely saw upon her sister's usually calm face. "You're a fool if you think Bella's content to sit around doing nothing," she muttered darkly, quiet enough so that only Narcissa heard.
Narcissa took advantage of the small space of silence. "Mother, I was wondering if we could visit Twilfitt and Tatting's sometime today to buy a dress for-"
"That's one thing I'll give your sister," Druella started once more, completely ignoring Narcissa in a manner that was both insulting and uncharacteristic. "At least when Bellatrix was around you three left the house so that men knew you existed."
Peevishly, Andromeda ripped open one of the letters with a loud sigh.
Eyebrow raised and mouth open, Druella stared at her daughter incredulously.
"Don't you even care?" she finally hissed in disappointment.
"Mother, I'm barely out of Hogwarts. I don't think my proposal opportunities are at a complete end," Andromeda sneered. "Bellatrix just got married and she's been out of school for two entire years! What nerve…"
"May I remind you, Andromeda, that Bellatrix had her engagement to Rodolphus secured far before her marriage," Druella noted harshly.
"A little too secure, I'd think," Andromeda muttered with a trace of a smile.
"You are not in a position to be making petty jokes," Druella snarled, finally reaching her point of exasperation. "Narcissa is closer to a wedding than you and she is two years your younger!"
Andromeda stood up from the table with a start, shoving her chair under it with more force than necessary. "Well, as you constantly have me know, Narcissa is a far greater beauty than myself so of course she's got a wedding ring all lined up."
Andromeda stormed out of the room. Narcissa flinched as the slammed door rattled the table. Druella stood with her mouth pursed angrily, glaring into space. Not thirty seconds later, Andromeda burst into the room with the same ferocity with which she had departed. Marching to the table, she snatched her letter without looking at her mother. The door slammed again when she left.
Druella let out a staggered breath. Composing herself with a control that Narcissa envied and admired, Druella sat across from her daughter.
"Narcissa, go talk sense into your sister."
Bellatrix, Narcissa knew, was perhaps the only person whose opinion Andromeda respected. However, Narcissa was not one to cause her mother additional strife. She nodded, dismissing herself from the table. Soured by the complete lack of attention she had received lately in light of Bella's wedding and Andromeda's completion of Hogwarts without a hint of a proposal, Narcissa felt very few kind feelings towards the matters of sisters. She wouldn't mind giving both of them a stern lecture. Not that they would ever listen, of course, but the idea certainly had its appeal.
Narcissa did not find Andromeda in her room. However, she was not entirely surprised when she checked Bella's. Andromeda was sprawled out limply on Bellatrix's bed staring up at the ceiling without moving except for the occasional need to blink.
"Andromeda…" Narcissa sighed as she entered the room slowly. "What are you doing in here?"
"I miss Bella," Andromeda replied as if a ghost, her voice lifeless yet strangely haunting.
"This is what Mother's talking about, you know," Narcissa reasoned coldly. "All you've done this summer is mope around the house, lamenting Bella's leaving."
Andromeda shrugged, trying to appear aloof and uncaring. However, Narcissa could see the tears that were watering in her eyes. When she spoke, Andromeda's voice was rough, "When Bella was here I didn't care what Mother said."
"Yeah, because you and Bella did nothing but mock our poor mother behind her back."
Andromeda didn't even acknowledge this. Her hands clutched the mangled letter so tightly that her knuckles were white. Noticing that, Narcissa also realized how badly Andromeda's hands were shaking.
The youngest sister bit her lip as she sat on the edge of the bed. She was used to being comforted; actually doing the comforting was another story entirely. Narcissa could calm Bellatrix when necessary, sometimes. Andromeda, however, was an impossibly terrifying challenge because Narcissa seldom saw her so upset.
"Meda," she said softly, trying and failing not to sound superior. "I know you think Mother's pretty harsh on you, but really, it's for the best."
"Oh shut up, Narcissa," Andromeda grumbled. "Hearing it from you doesn't make it any better."
Narcissa wondered briefly if Andromeda would yell at Bellatrix if they tried to have the same conversation. Wiping away a tear as it attempted to escape down her cheek, Andromeda turned away from Narcissa. She stared into the laughing faces of herself and Bella, captured in a frame that had been forgotten in the moving process. Narcissa felt a pang of sadness for Andromeda, and in spite of herself, jealousy too. Watching this, Narcissa reasoned that the only reason she had never seen such a broken side of Andromeda was because of Bellatrix. After all, Bella didn't exactly invite weakness. But it was more than that, Narcissa admitted, Andromeda just seemed happier around her older sister. Again, Narcissa was conflicted with a touch of envious irritation.
Pushing such feelings aside, Narcissa reached out to place a hand on Andromeda's quivering shoulders. "Andromeda, stop worrying so much. You're not an old maid yet."
Andromeda snorted derisively.
It was not in Narcissa's nature to pass compliments to people other than herself. However, she realized that one had to make allowances for sisters. "Look, Meda. You're beautiful, cultured, rich, powerful, and above all, a Black. Any pureblood wizard would kill to marry you."
For some reason, this seemed to do little but upset Andromeda more. She slapped away Narcissa's hand with a yell of frustration, finally rising from the bed to stalk across the room.
Without another word, she summoned a quill and bottle of ink. On a spare bit of parchment she found on Bella's nightstand, Andromeda scrawled a note furiously.
"I'm going to Bella's."
"What?" Narcissa asked, hurrying after her sister as Andromeda headed to her own room. "Didn't you listen to anything Mother said?"
"All I heard was a bunch of yelling to the horribly familiar tune of Andromeda is doomed to become an embarrassing spinster."
"Well, running off to hide at Bella's isn't going to solve anything," Narcissa argued, hands on her hips as Andromeda sent her Owl.
"I'm not hiding at Bella's. For all you know I'm going for dating advice," Andromeda snapped.
Narcissa leveled her sister with a grimace. "And you're visiting Bella?"
Andromeda almost managed a smile. "Fine; no dating advice from Bellatrix Lestrange," she shuddered at the last name then continued with the harsh teasing, "Maybe I just want to see what she's done with the place."
"But her house is so…" Narcissa struggled, finally deciding, "Creepy."
"Yeah, because a hallway full of severed house elf heads is really quaint," Andromeda spat. "Look, Cissy. I don't care; I just need to see Bella."
Narcissa searched for another argument. "Well… you can't expect to just show up her house without invitation."
"Narcissa," Andromeda scoffed in something dangerously close to insult, "Bellatrix is my sister. I'll show up to her house whenever I please. Besides, I just sent her an Owl. Merlin, the way you're going on I'd think you don't miss Bella."
Narcissa thought this was rather an unkind thing for Andromeda to say. Of course she missed Bellatrix; Narcissa just wasn't as keen as her sisters to cause their mother emotional trauma. Besides, it hadn't been that long since Bella's last visit. And, truth be told, Narcissa thought the absence of Bellatrix in the house had its benefits. She endured far less insults by Andromeda, for one thing.
However, ten minutes after threatening to tell their mother if Andromeda didn't let her go along, Narcissa stepped out of the green flames in a fireplace of Bella's. She hadn't even managed to comment on the dreariness of the parlor before there was a flash of light and a scream of surprise as Andromeda ducked behind a piece of furniture, pulling Narcissa down with her.
"Bella! Watch who you're aiming at!" Andromeda shouted, after it became apparent that Bellatrix had fired the spell.
"Oh, sorry," Bellatrix chuckled, lowering her wand as she sauntered over to them. "I thought you might be Mother. She's been making a habit of sending annoying letters in which she subtly threatens showing up at an unannounced time."
"Yeah… perfectly fine to pop up randomly at Bella's, it's not like she'll try to hex us into oblivion or anything," Narcissa muttered crossly.
Bellatrix stared at Narcissa in confusion. Maybe she was trying to decide if this was a compliment or not, Narcissa thought.
"I sent you an Owl!" Andromeda whined, her voice wavering noticeably.
"I know," Bella yawned, "I got it a few minutes before you arrived."
She rubbed her eyes wearily. For some reason, Bella's lack of presence reassured Narcissa. Andromeda, however, paid no attention to Bellatrix's less than hospitable reception. With a quiet yelp, she flung herself at Bellatrix, clinging onto her sister shamelessly.
Bella staggered back a few steps as she caught Andromeda's weight.
"What's the matter? Meda, what's happened?" Bellatrix demanded, looking furiously between the clearly distraught Andromeda and the cantankerous Narcissa.
"Mother," Andromeda practically sobbed into Bella's shoulder.
Bellatrix's face changed from reflecting anger to something like understanding, possibly amusement. "Then why is Narcissa here? I'm sure Mother wasn't bothering her."
Narcissa huffed in annoyance.
"I was just teasing you, Cissy," Bella sighed, ruffling the perfect blonde hair.
Narcissa glared at Bella's unnecessary ruining of yet another perfect hairdo as she seated herself on a dark leathered armchair. Shaking her head, Bellatrix led Andromeda to the adjacent sofa. Bella sat while Andromeda lay with her knees pulled close to her stomach, her head resting on her sister's lap.
"What did the old bat do this time?" Bella asked gently, brushing a loose strand of hair from Andromeda's cheek.
"It's what she said."
"Figures. But I don't see why you'd let her opinion upset you so much. I mean, what's the worse she could say? Andromeda, why can't you have hair like Narcissa?" Bella mocked.
"Andromeda, why can't you be married like Bellatrix?"
"Oh," Bella replied, as though she was in part responsible for the comment. "That topic again…"
"I don't want to talk about it, ok?"
Narcissa thought that that was part of the problem. Bella looked as though she might press the issue, then seemed to decide against it with a yawn.
"I didn't wake you up, did I?" Andromeda asked.
Bellatrix nodded, yawning widely again. "Yeah… late night."
"Oh please, spare me the details," Andromeda grumbled, suddenly not as remorseful.
Narcissa frowned at Bellatrix who was wearing a sleepy smile.
"I was reading, Narcissa," Bellatrix drawled. "So skip the lecture."
"And I was shagging the Minister," Andromeda replied with equal sarcasm.
Bellatrix looked at Andromeda with a furrowed brow. "You are in a bad mood, aren't you?"
"I just don't need to hear about your frequent dirty rendezvous with that thing you call a husband," Andromeda mumbled.
"You're the one who mentioned shagging, not me," Bella noted lightly. "Really, Meda, is that all you think I'm good for?"
"No. But I can't say the same for your husband's thoughts," Andromeda said, uttering the last word with particular loathing.
It was a telling remark on Bellatrix's love for Andromeda that she didn't shove the girl to the floor.
"Merlin, that man endures more abuse by you than by me," Bellatrix mused. "Something about that doesn't seem right."
"Is Rodolphus here?" Andromeda sniffed.
"I think so; he tends to live here, you know," Bella chuckled, apparently not noticing the bitterness in Andromeda's question.
"Get rid of him then."
Bellatrix laughed harder still at this comment, smiling at her sister. "Don't worry, Meda," Bella said, pulling Andromeda into a closer embrace. "I won't let Rodolphus near you."
"Or Mother," Andromeda added in a mumble.
Bellatrix grinned at this, not hesitating to stage whisper, "This is why I like you better than Narcissa."
Though hardly about to take anything Bellatrix said to heart, Narcissa couldn't help but regret tagging along if her sisters were going to make a point of making her feel like a third wheel.
Andromeda shifted slightly, clasping Bella's wrist tightly as she said, "I'm not joking, Bella. How long can I stay with you? I think I'll go mental with mother nagging me constantly for the rest of the summer."
Narcissa examined her nails imperiously as she muttered, "Mother wouldn't nag you if a ring appeared on your finger."
Andromeda groaned in obvious irritation. Bellatrix, using a small throw pillow, whacked Narcissa on the side of the head.
"Ow!"
"Cissy, are you stupid? Andromeda just wanted to escape Mother's hackling; is it completely necessary to be her miniature?"
Narcissa could not see the harm in mimicking a woman whose social skills and graces far exceeded the combined total of her two sisters. However, worrying that Bellatrix might hit her with something less cushiony than a pillow the next time she spoke, Narcissa remained silent.
Satisfied, Bellatrix returned to Andromeda's request. "Meda, anytime you long for a sound other than the consistent whining of Mother, you are welcome here. But, that doesn't mean I find this whole situation entirely amusing. Really, if you don't get moving, all the good ones are going to get taken."
"Not you too, Bella," Andromeda cried. "Please, I know; it's just that-"
"What?"
"N-nothing. I'm just sick of Mother."
"Don't worry about her. Mother wouldn't visit me now if I threw a tea party in her honor. Which I would never do in the first place," Bella added as an afterthought.
"It must be the décor that's keeping her away," Narcissa noted wryly.
Bellatrix made an elaborate show of taking her surroundings into consideration, pressing a finger to her lips as if in deep thought. "Perhaps you have a point, Cissy. The residence is certainly lacking… something. Of course, I had considered finding some live mudbloods to keep in the dungeons. For sound effects, mostly. It would liven the place up a bit, don't you think?"
Narcissa grimaced, daring to express her hopes aloud, "I hope you're joking…"
Bellatrix shrugged, winking at Narcissa in all of her uncertainty.
"That's disgusting, Bella," Andromeda finally said.
For the first time since their arrival, Bellatrix seemed to take Andromeda's nastiness personally.
"Don't be such a bleeding heart, Andromeda. I was only making a comment. Practicality, really."
"Well your definition of practical has always been skewed."
After that, Andromeda didn't seem to want to talk much. Bellatrix challenged Narcissa to a game of chess. After losing four games in a matter of an hour, Narcissa remembered why she hated the game so much in the first place. Not to mention the fact that Bella owned the most violent chess pieces Narcissa had ever seen.
"Exploding Snap?" Bella suggested, smirking as Narcissa's King was demolished into a pile of dust.
"Sure…" Narcissa said, looking at her pieces in displeasure. "This is a stupid game anyway."
Exploding Snap didn't prove much more successful. But Narcissa realized she should never have expected to beat Bellatrix in a game where exploding things was not against the rules but actually part of the game.
"You cheated."
"You're only sore because you lost… again," Bella said, smug as ever.
Narcissa knew that protesting the point would only fuel Bella's ego.
"She isn't sleeping much, is she?" Bella noted, nodding to Andromeda who had fallen asleep, her head cushioned on Bella's legs.
"What makes you say that?" Narcissa asked for the sake of conversation. Andromeda's sleeping habits weren't exactly the most exciting thing to talk about.
Bella ran a finger slowly over the dark shadows below Andromeda's eyes.
"She just looks exhausted every time I see her," Bella said, a tinge of concern not often heard in her voice.
"That and the fact that she's been a royal bitch lately," Narcissa added.
"Yeah, and that," Bella agreed with a laugh, apparently surprised by her sister's word choice. "I think she's just worried."
"Aren't we all?"
Bellatrix bit her lip, shook her head, and then breathed in deeply. "Andromeda will be fine. Something's going to happen soon. I can feel it."
Narcissa took comfort in this, even if she didn't feel the same. Bellatrix's gut instincts were usually right.
They sat without speaking for a long time. Narcissa was skimming through an old copy of the Daily Prophet she had found on an end table; Bellatrix stared down upon her sleeping sister, apparently lost in thought. Eventually Bella's eyes began to droop and she too fell asleep, her head resting on the back of the sofa, mouth slack and open. Boredom finally getting the better of her, Narcissa decided to go home. She thought her mother might be in a better mood by now, and the desire for a new dress would not be in vain.
Taking a pinch of Floo Powder from the mantelpiece, Narcissa cast a final glance at her sisters. With a small smile, she found herself comparing the facial features of her two sisters. The similarity wasn't as prominent as it had once been, but still, there was a mutuality between Andromeda and Bellatrix that even Narcissa couldn't deny. Somehow, in sleep they looked younger. Maybe not more peaceful, but at least at peace. Narcissa didn't think that she would ever understand the bond between Bella and Meda; but maybe that was it. As they held onto each other as though sometime might somehow disappear, even in sleep, they were untouchable.
Author's Note: Just a timeline check; I imagined this taking place less than two weeks before Andromeda leaves. (Eek!) I can't thank you guys enough for your reading and reviews!