What happens when the dust settles after Voldemort's eventual defeat? A look at the aftermath. All the lives uprooted and the long-lasting repercussions on those who fought. I know it is a children/ young adult series but the author had given hints that not all the characters escaped unscathed from their experiences. Many earned themselves some serious PTSD.

This was probably not canonic given how the senior Malfoys were said to persist in their prejudices in the Cursed Child, but I would like to see the surviving Blacks reach a truce of sorts.

The Sisters

"You look well, Sis." A lie.

Andromeda knew she probably looked like a drowned cat. Little Teddy had been howling like a banshee and shape-changing in protest of his bath when the doorbell rang. Narcissa was the last person she expected to turn up on her doorstep. Her sister's shoulders seemed more hunched. Grey and gaunt, she was a far cry from the beauty she was once hailed as. Her hair was dishevelled and her robes, though stylish, were worn and out of fashion. Her sister looked out of place in the working-class Muggle neighbourhood the Tonks had made their home in.

Narcissa Malfoy nee Black did not know what she had been expecting. Surely not her elder in a Muggle slacks and jumper with the sleeves rolled up, soaking wet. Her dark brown hair was shot with streaks of silver. The last time she had seen Andromeda was before she eloped with a fellow intern in St Mungo's where she had convinced their parents to allow her to pursue a Mastery in healing. As a Black, she need not work at all.

Once upon a time, it was the three of them sisters against the world. The clever one, the mad one, and the fair one. Bella was dead now. She had been dead to Andromeda ever since the infamous Black madness overtook her. Like Andromeda had been all but dead to her family when she chose Muggleborn Edward Tonks over her family's wishes. Her sweet Edward was gone now. Widowhood did not sit easy on her. Perhaps given time…

Teddy was now happily splashing in the tub, having turned himself into a seal pup. The barks of pleasure echoed through the house. The fickleness of young children. That allowed his beleaguered grandmother some room to breathe. She did a quick drying spell before summoning tea and cookies. Marks & Spencer's. She had little time to bake with Teddy to care for… and Edward and Dora's belongings to sort through. Lupin's belongings had been left to Potter to deal with. Poor boy. And that boy was Teddy's godfather. Some joke by Dora most likely, naming him godfather in her will (left with the Order before her death) on top of getting Lupin to convince him to agree to it. It had stuck. Harry was trying to do right by his godson, though barely of age himself.

Andromeda poured tea the way she remembered her little sister preferred. No sugar with a dash of cream. Proper chit chat on the weather, before Narcissa broached the subject.

"They are sending Lucius and Draco to Azkaban. They bear his Mark…" She rubbed her forearm, no doubt recalling how close she had come herself to being Marked like Bella. Lucius would not allow it, not back then, and not during the second war even though he had failed to stop Draco. Her husband and son had lied about her participation in the war, downplaying her role as much as possible. She had been too willing to open her home to the Dark Lord before she realized what they were getting into.

Andromeda had read of the capture of Lucius Malfoy and his son in the Daily Prophet as they tried to flee to France. Perhaps her brother-in-law deserved it, but Draco was just a kid foolish enough to take the Mark. What was the boy thinking? There had been a photo of a scared-looking youth that went with the article.

"I cannot bear to lose them… it was so very hard when Lucius was in prison, but to lose my son…" Narcissa paused, staring at her teacup.

Andromeda excused herself to fish her grandson out of the bathtub and get him dressed. The tot clung to her in the form of a koala. They had brough him to the zoo the other week, the day after they buried his grandfather. The boy was fascinated by the koalas. Aurors had found Ted Tonks' remains and identified them. She had held out hope her Ted would return alive until then.

"Is he…" Narcissa stared warily at the child. His father had been a werewolf.

"Teddy is a Metamorphagus, like my Dora," Andromeda explained. "They are immune to lycanthropy. Besides, it can only be spread from bites when a werewolf is in its beast form."

It hurt but she had to be strong. Sometimes Teddy would try to mimic his grandfather, father, or mother as they looked through the family photos, sprouting a tiny brown moustache, changing his hair colour to match his mother's or his nose and ears to match his namesake's.

"I'm so sorry…" Narcissa was flustered. Andromeda blinked away the tears that prickled at the corners of her eyes. She had lost both her husband and child. She had been tortured. Her grandson orphaned without a chance to know his parents. Narcissa still had her husband and child. For a fleeting heartbeat, she felt like dragging her little sister out of her tiny sitting room by the hair into the street.

"Gramma?" Teddy murmured sleepily, as if sensing the witch's distress. He had Dora's eyes now, peering quizzically at his grandmother and her visitor.

"Hush, Teddy," she dropped a kiss on his brown curls, inhaling the scent of baby shampoo. Teddy fussed a little and turned his hair the same blond shade as their visitor's.

"Luc was acquitted after the First War, and he escaped from Azkaban… Even if they do not sentence him to the Kiss, he will be in Azkaban a long time. It almost killed him that year… and Draco… it will kill him for sure! I need your help!" Narcissa blurted. Her little sister must be at her wits' end to seek her out.

There had been whispers that the reformed Ministry sought to rid the prison of Dementors as they had been proven untrustworthy by joining Voldemort. However, those were just whispers. Some said Bella's madness was exacerbated by her time in Azkaban. Even their cousin Sirius had not escaped unscathed. Without thinking, Andromeda allowed the glamour to slip. The scars from her torture bloomed on her bare forearms like angry dark vines.

"Andi, your arms…" Narcissa exclaimed. She burst into tears - all composure gone.

"It's nothing… I am still alive… We are still alive…" Andromeda hugged her little sister with her free arm. Teddy innocently patted his great-aunt's hair and cooed soothingly. Andromeda spelled the glamour back in place.

"What should I do?" Narcissa asked as her elder sister spelled away the tears from her cheeks. For a moment it was as if they were young girls again with Andi consoling Cissy after Bella fed her pet mouse to a snake for fun. Bellatrix was always wild, even as a little girl. She did apologize after it was over.

"Do you have a solicitor? Perhaps old Crewe?" There were few willing to defend the Death Eaters in the war's aftermath. Narcissa nodded.

"But he does not have high hopes…" For moment, Andromeda was reminded of a seven-year-old Cissy, sitting stiffly with her teacup in hand and her legs tucked in at the family's Sunday brunch, unsure and awkward the first time she was allowed to join the grown-up table.

"Hope is all we have, Cissy. It is all we have to carry on with. Will you return to Malfoy Manor after this?"

"No! I am staying at the London Astoria. I cannot bear to return to that place after all that happened there," the witch shook her head vehemently. "Draco wants nothing of it as well…"

"The Astoria is so costly," Andromeda clucked. "I'd recommend the Summers Inn off Mirabelle Street. It is more private too. When have you last eaten?" She noticed belatedly how thin her sister was and how the cookies remained untouched.

"I do not feel much like it…"

"Nonsense, you need sustenance. Do not make me spell a nutrient potion into you, Cissy," Andromeda pottered over to the kitchen where she retrieved half a quiche and assembled some ham sandwiches.

"Now, when is the trial?"

Perhaps she might be able to get Harry to put in a good word for Draco. Teddy's godfather was expected to visit in two days' time with the Weasleys. Harry had mentioned in passing how Draco had apparently not recognized him when they were brought to the manor. Had the boy lied to his father and fellow Death Eaters?

During her brief foray into the kitchen, Teddy had crawled across the settee and settled with his head pillowed against Narcissa's skirts. The tot was now snoozing, having returned to his true form, brown mousy hair like his mother's but slightly curly like his father's. Narcissa was stroking the tot's back. The old her would have been horrified when presented with a child born of a werewolf and a halfblood.

"What were your plans? Or rather Lucius' plans?" She knew her sister was always the pliant one, never rebelling against their parents, or her husband…

"He wanted to flee the country. We own a chateau in France… I told him it would not work, but he didn't listen… He hasn't been quite right since Azkaban…"

"Perhaps a mind-healer might be needed. I heard from Remus Sirius was rather unhinged after his escape."

"Having that monster in our house did not help either," Cissy snapped in a rare show of temper. "Draco had to ward his room for fear of attack. They had werewolves – Greyback's pack - prowling outside his window. The things they threatened him with… and we could not protect him. My baby boy…"

"Very well, have Draco speak of that at his trial. Tell him to set aside his pride. It will be hard," Andromeda nodded. "We might be able to plead for a lesser sentence for him, or even an acquittal if we can convince them he was under duress."

"Thank you, Sis. You always were the smart one."

For a moment, Andromeda wanted to offer her a place to stay in her home, but no. Cissy would be horrified by the Muggle furnishings in Dora's old bedroom. Did they still have Remus' old trunk there? The hurt was too fresh. She withheld the offer.

"Was it hard, being married to a mud- Muggleborn?"

"My Ted is a wizard, Cissy. Yes, it was hard at first, getting used to Muggle life when we had to visit his family. He is, was, so understanding and kind… Like when I put the toaster into the washing machine…" Andi smiled at the memory.

"What's a toaster? A Muggle artefact?"

"Oh, Cissy. It is device Muggles use for toasting bread instead of having house elves. There is so much out there we did not know of, even after Muggle Studies… which I must admit, is horridly outdated… Ted wanted to use a Scroungifying spell on it after his family left, but I decided to put it into the washing machine with the clothes to wash. There was a loud bang, and there were bubbles all over the kitchen. Ted had to fix the toaster, washing machine, and the clothes with magic while I kept his family into the sitting room. His parents are gone now, but I will have to write to his sister in Australia to tell her…" Andi's voice trailed off.

"Oh, Andi. I wish things had turned out differently for us, all of us. Luc has always been kind to me, but he really believes in blood purity, like Father and Mother. When I was younger, he was like a knight in shining armour to me. Now I know he is only a man, as flawed as any other wizard," Cissy murmured. "I know he made a lot of mistakes along the way. I hope it is not too late for him."

She glanced down at the child sleeping on her skirts.

"They are so sweet at that age, aren't they? My Draco was such a quiet baby. The elves would just leave him to drowse in his cot and carry on with the housework for hours." A wan smile came to the witch's lips.

"My Dora was so very loud as a baby. When she started walking, we were so busy keeping her from tripping down the stairs or banging into doors," Andi chuckled. "Then there was her gift. One day she decided to turn into a mouse and poor Ted had a fit when the neighbour's cat decided to chase her across the yard."

"What happened?"

"She turned into a large dog when she reached the fence. Then it was the cat's turn to run," Andi chuckled richly.

Narcissa followed her sister's gaze to where a collection of family photographs sat on the mantelpiece. One showed a pink-haired young witch in Auror robes sandwiched between Andromeda and a plump, smiling man with thatch of blond hair. Another had a younger Andromeda and Ted cooing over their toddler. Magical photos. There were no portraits in the sitting room. They had Draco sit for his first family portrait at seven. It took two artists, multiple tantrums, and good deal of frayed tempers. At one point, Lucius threatened to put his son in a Full Body Bind.

"If only…" Andromeda let her words tail off. She had never thought she would meet anyone from her family after marrying Ted, apart from Cousin Sirius – a few brief visits before the Potters were killed. She never saw him after Azkaban. Now her little sister was there beside her. No doubt looking on in proper disdain at her sitting room, a mix of magical and Muggle items.

"I must go to the solicitor's…" Narcissa put her old empty cup down. She gently untangled Teddy's hands from her skirts.

"I will see you to the door…" Andromeda replied. "Will I see you again?" Dare she hope?

"Perhaps…" Narcissa started. "Sunday afternoon be good?"

Author's Notes:

Not sure if the surviving Black sisters ever met again after the war, we do know is that Andromeda got cut off from her family after she married Ted Tonks. Her sisters seemed to buy into Voldemort's ideas, Bellatrix more fanatically than Narcissa. Narcissa seemed to be following Voldemort more of loyalty out to her husband even if she did subscribe to the same prejudices. To her, her son (and maybe her husband) is everything.