Okay, this is the second of three installations in this story.

This isn't my favorite chapter, but please R&R!

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling.

The second time Ted and Narcissa ever talked was on his wedding day. Narcissa hadn't been invited; yet she snuck into the cozy chapel at dawn. In six short years she'd grown up. Her hair was pinned back sharply, and her lips coated with crimson. She was robed in a fine green dress, stockings, and heels. In her hands she clutched a box. At nineteen, she'd managed to compose herself into a dignified woman. She was no longer a baby, and she'd never meant to get caught. In fact Narcissa had decided a week prior that she'd never see Andromeda again. A war was coming, and she'd picked her side; the shiny rock on her finger was a reminder of that. So walking down a muggle isle on the day of her sister's wedding was impractical. But she had to drop of the last box of Andromeda's things. For closure, she told herself. She'd leave immediately.

Narcissa set the box down on the bench closest to the alter, and was about to go-

"Hello Miss Black." She spun around. "Or is it Malfoy now?" Ted Tonks was framed in the doorway. His face was stony.

"Still Black." She answered in a flush. "I- I- I'll go," Narcissa rushed to the door.

"So soon?" He asked coldly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. I have to help my mother set up for tea." She hadn't had a tea party since she was six. But she looked so distraught, his face softened at the lie.

"What are you doing here?" He asked. She gave a sad little half smile. She knew the old Narcissa would have told him everything, but that no longer seemed rational.

"What are you doing here?" She countered.

"I'm practicing." He answered honestly.

"Practicing for your wedding?" She questioned. Her wedding was in a month and she hadn't given it a thought. Yes, she'd tried on gauzy gowns, and fought with her mother over calla lilies. But spending the rest of her life with Lucius Malfoy? She avoided the idea.

"I'm nervous." He told her.

"Why would you be?"

"I don't know."

"Oh," she said flatly.

"Will you help me practice?" He asked boldly. Narcissa didn't know what to say. It was creepy, it was intimate, and it unsettled her. Didn't he get it? She should have left by then! Hell...she probably should have killed him by then.

"Why would I?" She asked coldly.

"As a last favor to your sister." He said. Narcissa had no idea what to say. It was such a stupid, juvenile thing to do: help him practice for his wedding. Still…Perhaps as a last favor to Dromeda was due. For closure, she told herself. It's just a few minutes.

"You won't tell Dromeda right?"

"Of course not, that would only upset her more." Ted said quietly.

His words made Narcissa want to cry. Upset my own sister, she mused. Did I really do that? But it was best Andromeda knew nothing. Narcissa twisted Lucius Malfoy's ring uneasily.

"Fine." She said curtly. "I'll help you practice." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear impatiently. It was a stupid thing to do, yet she felt surprisingly lightheaded. Light seethed through the windows, illuminating the two. As they stood apart from the world for strict seconds, wondering when the other had grown up.

"Fine," Ted repeated suddenly: for he'd just remembered his surroundings. "Well you start over there, obviously." He said, pointing to the churches entrance.

"Right."

"Right." Narcissa stepped primly to the top of the aisle, broke into a serene smile that wasn't her own, and swung her weight slightly to the left, the way Dromeda did. Ted broke into a smile.

"Wow, you could be twins."

"We're sisters, smart one." She said with almost a laugh. "It's not that far off."

"So." He said, as she approached him. "Er...anyway."

"You say your vows now, right?"

"Right. I Theodore Tonks, er- Take thee Andromeda Black."

"Emily."

"What?"

"Andromeda Emily Black."

"Really?"

"God, Ted" Narcissa said snappishly, "You're her fiancee, you should know this!" But she was half joking, and he knew it. Narcissa smiled to herself. Emily wasn't Dromeda's middle name, her middle name was Walburga. Emily had been Dromeda's favorite name as a child. And now Andromeda would know she'd been there, because she and Bellatrix were the only ones who remembered that.

"Take thee Andromeda Emily Black-"

"Good job," Narcissa interrupted quietly, ducking her head.

"To be my wedded Wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better worse- for better or for worse. Sorry. Richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death us do part."

He looked up at Narcissa with a dopey grin. "Is that alright?"

She couldn't help but smile. "Of course it is. Brilliant. She'll love it."

"You're sure."

"Positive, wait no."

"NO?" Ted asked, his face suddenly aghast.

Narcissa chuckled at his expression. "Change the last part," she said carefully. "When we were young our grandmother died."

"Oh, sorry."

"Oh, don't be! It's not important. Anyway- Andromeda was nine or seven, and she became obsessed. She wanted to know where our grandmother went, and "magic is mysterious," wasn't enough for her. Her biggest question was always, had Grandmother found Granddad? And well this is stupid-" Narcissa lapsed into silence.

"No, continue."

"Well, just, change the last line to forever and always, if you want to appease her. She didn't like the idea of death separating people. But, you probably know her better than me and-"

"No, I'll use it."

"In sickness and health, forever and always. Good?" He asked kindly, Narcissa nodded.

"Perfect." But she didn't smile this time. Her mind had turned to Lucius Malfoy, and it made her squirm. She'd spent her years since Hogwarts being wheeled around by her parents like a piece of meat. Eager to sell her to the perfect match. Lucius Malfoy was the highest bidder. And sure, he wasn't that bad. He was plenty courteous. And plenty rich. But still! She missed being a girl. Her best friend Rhiannon owled her every week with a picture from her world tour: Greece, France, Australia. And Narcissa collected each picture in a box on her desk, and wrote back to her friend in short pros. All is well here. Had lunch with Lucius. Will you be at our reception? Polite and to the point. Secretly, she was green with envy. She'd lightly suggested traveling to Malfoy one day, and he'd turned her down sharply. "Things are heating up at work," He'd said. Right, work.

"Your upset," Ted remarked. Pulling Narcissa back to reality with a heady sigh.

"No. Just...contemplating."

"What?"

"I said-"

"No, what are you contemplating?" He asked. Narcissa picked at her nails, and sighed.

"I don't love my husband."

"You're married?"

"Fiancee! Fiancee..." She breathed. "With everything happening. People are getting married on snap judgements, and-"

"Oh."

"Oh."

"I love your sister."

"I know. I'm happy for you two." Narcissa turned to go, but he was faster. He grabbed her hand.

"Just one more thing," He asked. "What's in the box?" She smiled sadly.

"Go look for yourself." He nodded.

"Okay. And Narcissa,"

"Yes?"

"Be strong."

Narcissa smiled at that.

"Forever and always, right?"

"Right."

He watched her run out of the church. There was nothing prim or dignified about it. She loped towards the entrance, spun around hands aloft, gave him a wide smile, and with a crack-

She was gone.