Differences by ficexchange

Merry Christmas, Tash (PirateSmile)!

Differences

2001. The war, one dubbed by The Daily Prophet as "The Last Great War", had been over for nearly three years now. Harry Potter was married, Kingsley Shacklebolt had become the Minister of Magic the people could depend on and the fear of a name was now long forgotten, replaced only by grand boasting of the Boy Who Survived's final victory and exaggerated tales of what exactly happened at the castle that night. The wizarding world was at last at peace – almost. There was still unfinished business among certain circles (some exceptionally bitter, some not) and it was that unfinished business that led Narcissa Malfoy down the path of a quaint little Muggle house in Swindon, robes pulled tight against her thin body to shield off the December night air and the sticky butterflies that fluttered about inside her stomach. Why was she here after so long? She had never gotten the urge to before and she certainly wouldn't admit it if she ever had, but so much had changed in the past three years with the fall of the Dark Lord, the death of her sister and the fact her husband and only son were now free. Yes, they were considered a plague to the rest of society who regarded them with soft whispers and averted eyes, but they had their money and their freedom and each other. Draco was even courting a nice girl from a pure family. Perhaps it was curiosity that brought her here? It certainly wasn't a guilty conscience or a need for forgiveness. It was just... thirty years worth of unfinished business that had Narcissa standing at the doorstep, pale hair retaining a dull yellow glow under the porch light as a small hand reached out and rapped sharply on the wooden door adorned with the obligatory Christmas wreath.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" A voice, one distantly familiar to Narcissa's ears, demanded sharply the moment the door opened a fraction. The only thing she could see of them was their eyes peering out suspiciously from the gap, raking up and down her form as though sizing her up. "I'm sorry, madam, but whatever you're selling I'm not interested."

"Andromeda, is that you?" Narcissa's voice was oddly hesitant as she took a step back from the doorway, a hand automatically moving to pat her robe pocket on the off chance she had knocked at the wrong house. The sudden jolt of her stomach told her she hadn't. There was a lengthy pause and the door shut completely, followed by the sound of quiet fumbling and a slight 'snick' before it was pushed back open and the pale-haired witch found a wand at her throat.

"What are you doing here, Narcissa?" Andromeda Tonks spoke in a slight hiss as she forced the other woman back on to the porch, her wand hand shaking slightly as she tried to remain calm. Teddy was asleep upstairs, completely unaware of what was going on below between his grandmother and the great aunt he had never met. She had to keep him safe and it was obvious in the way her dark eyes flashed that she was prepared to do just that, a curse lingering on the tip of her tongue as the other witch merely stared back at her mildly. "This – I thought this was over, Narcissa. Don't you want to move on? The war ended years ago. Merlin, it was over before it was even halfway through. There's nothing else here so leave or I'll make you leave and you'll regret that, I promise you. Teddy, he's... he's too young to be caught in the middle of this. My daughter –"

"Annie, calm yourself. I'm not here to hurt you or Teddy," Narcissa's nose wrinkled in slight distaste at such a common name before she could help herself, but her neutral expression returned a moment later when Andromeda jabbed her particularly hard. Cold blue eyes flickered across Andromeda's face curiously as though the woman wasn't about to hex her into oblivion, allowing an inward sigh as she registered just how similar she and Bellatrix looked when they were angry. It was startling. "I came by myself, I assure you. I'm completely alone. Lucius is at home resting and Draco is out visiting. I wanted to – " her voice faltered for the first time here, a pink tongue swiping across her top lip to return the moisture that had left her mouth, "I wanted to see you. It's been so long."

"Don't call me that. You lost the right to it years ago, Narcissa Bla – oh, my mistake! It's Mrs. Malfoy now, isn't it? I apologise. It's been so long, after all, I suppose it's no surprise that I'm a touch confused," Andromeda spat, jaw clenching down reflexively as she said her name. The last time she had seen Narcissa was the day she left Black Manor decades ago with Ted and she still meant what she had said to her sisters then – she never wanted to see either of them ever again. They had taken her daughter and her husband away from her and Teddy's father away from him. What kind of gall did this woman have to come here after all of that? "Now - I told you to leave. It's been awhile, yes, but I doubt you've lost your hearing in all that time."

"You yourself just said that the war is over and it's time to move on, Andromeda. A new era is coming and Lucius, Draco and I are smart enough to move with it. Mother and Father have been dead for quite some time now, you know," Narcissa's tone held a gentle note, the same one she often used on Draco when he threw tantrums as a child, as she slowly lifted a hand up to grasp Andromeda's still-shaking one. "Auntie, too, and Bella... Bellatrix died at the castle that night. I'm sure you knew that, though." She gave a dry smile here, threading her unnaturally cool fingers between her sister's warm ones with the thin piece of wand wood between them. "It's the second most popular story people like to tell me – they think they're so dreadfully witty and amusing, the lot of them. Blood, Annie, isn't as important as it used to be and that still disgusts me. But I've my son and my husband and all I want is to talk to you. Would that really be as difficult as you're making it out to be?"

Andromeda's heart skipped over several beats and she inwardly cursed herself for not acting right away, but the lump forming solidly in her throat made it hard to think and her sister's words and the cold touch that accompanied them made it hard to think. She wanted her to leave, she threatened her with what would happen if she didn't and all Narcissa could do was smile that condescending, timeless little smile of hers. Andromeda wanted to smack it right off of her, put all her fury behind a good solid punch to that infuriatingly similar nose of hers and send her packing right away from her house and right away from the only part of Nymphadora she had left. What her mind wanted to do, however, failed to matter to the rest of her body that was slowly backing away, flinching out of Narcissa's touch before gesturing with her wand towards the still open door. "I told you to stop calling me that and I meant it," Andromeda stated, her mouth nothing more than a disapproving thin line as she spoke. "You can have your conversation and then you're going to get out of my home and I never want to see you again. If I suspect for even a moment you're up to something and this whole thing has been some sort of sick ploy, you'll be leaving this house in a Ministry bag. Do you understand that?"

"I understand, however unnecessary I think such threats are." Andromeda had never been quite so blunt about violence before that she could remember, but she did not trust Narcissa for as far as she could throw her and this was exaggerated by the quick visual scan she made of the street before following the younger woman into the house. Wand still drawn, Andromeda quietly shut the door and awkwardly took her robe as Narcissa looked about the hallway in true nosy housewife fashion.

"You've to keep your voice down. Teddy's asleep – like most people are at this time of night, I might add," Andromeda said, putting the robe up on a hook as she pointed the way into the living room. It was a modest sort of place with a few lounge chairs, a television set and a coffee table that centred the rest of the room. It was kept clean to the best of her near obsessive abilities, but taking care of a toddler had its drawbacks and toys all over one corner of the room was most certainly one of them. She wasn't out to impress her late night guest, though, so she merely stared at Narcissa until she sat down. "I suppose it would be polite of me to ask if you would like some tea, then?"

"Yes, please," Narcissa smiled, trying not to look too uncomfortable in her surroundings. Andromeda turned around warily and moved off towards what the pale-haired witch assumed was the kitchen, mumbling and griping under her breath in annoyance as she went. It was when Andromeda was out of sight that Narcissa allowed herself a grimace, shaking her head in disgust as she gave a loud sigh. Even after everything that had happened happened, the Malfoys were still very much on top of the financial ladder and it was unlikely to change. Mumbling herself, she picked up an old embroidered cushion and fingered one of small red tassels, "Oh, Annie. You used to have the best of everything. We had the best of everything. Why did you settle for something like this? Mother would have been so horrified if she knew."

Andromeda returned several moments later, her wand tucked carefully in her sleeve, and she carefully set down a plate of biscuits and a teacup in front of the other witch. She took a thoughtfully silent sip from her own, blatantly ignoring the tense air between them as Narcissa did the same. "I settled for this, as you put it, because I was in love," Andromeda said after a pause, setting her cup down. She wasn't deaf and her little sister was the farthest thing from subtle. "Do you know what that is, Narcissa? I wasn't being judged all the time for things I had no control over. It wasn't about blood or money or manners. I have – I had someone who loved and cared for me unconditionally just because of who I was inside, but that's not what you came here to talk to me about, is it?"

Narcissa sipped her tea in small, polite gulps as she considered what Andromeda had said. She supposed such cutting marks were aimed to wound, but the only thing that truly offended her was the horrendously low-quality tea in the cup in front of her. Tilting her head curiously, tendrils of blonde hair falling against her cheek, the witch smiled again in a way that made the small wrinkles around her mouth more pronounced. "You know, you look so much like Bellatrix but you sound absolutely nothing like her - except when you're angry. I'd forgotten all about that. Then? You're virtually the same person."

"Excuse me?" came Andromeda's indignant, sputtered reply a delayed few seconds later, chased by the clash of china and wood as she slammed her saucer down on the table.

"Yes, sort of like that!" Narcissa said with an enthusiastic nod, quite aware of the buttons she had... well, it wasn't so much pushed as smashed repeatedly with a two tonne hammer. She reached across the table and gave Andromeda's knee a small pat, careful to avoid the dirty apron the woman had forgotten to take off from before she arrived. "But do be quiet, won't you? There is a child sleeping upstairs, after all."

"I absolutely – I invite you into my home and you – I cannot believe you would say something quite so – Narcissa Black, get OUT of my house!" Andromeda's sudden rage was irrational, she knew, but she felt as though the other witch had been laughing at her from the moment she stepped foot into her home. "If you do not get out I will throw you out like I should have done the moment you stepped into my yard! GET OUT!"

"Oh, Annie. You are overreacting!" Narcissa gave a small, tinkering laugh at Andromeda's rant. "You know it's true. Regardless of what happened after, sister dear, it wasn't all quite as horrible as you're making it out to be. Why, I remember after you left Bellatrix told me about a conversation she had with you when you were still an infant..."

* * *

1954. Bellatrix Black had been waiting to the side of the parlour for almost two hours now, exerting all the patience a four-year-old could possibly muster as she waited to get a peak at what all the adults (of which there seemed to be far too many and they all brought along their own children who were currently rifling through her things and playing with her toys) were fussing over. She knew it had something to do with the bundle of green blankets they all wanted to take turns in holding and the fact her parents and Auntie Walburga had spent almost three whole days in the main bedroom a few weeks ago, leaving Bellatrix entirely to her own devices and the company of the house elves. She had spent most of it laying outside the bedroom in question, refusing to eat or move until one of the adults agreed to come out and pay attention to her. Of course, none of them were aware of her presence so she was sitting there completely on her own, glaring at any of the help who dared suggest she go to bed or to the dining room to eat something. It had been a long three days and Cygnus didn't even appreciate her protests, instead sweeping her up in his arms the moment he finally left the room and congratulated her on becoming a big sister. It had been quite aggravating, indeed.

Finally spotting an opportunity to grab a look, Bellatrix noticed Walburga finally placing the green bundle back into the bassinet that was on the other side of the semi-crowded room (with a coo of "an ugly child is a very nasty thing, and the prettiest is downright frightful!", something Bellatrix didn't particularly understand). Ducking and weaving in and out of the many legs while avoiding her father's attempts to grab her into a conversation, she grabbed a chair from the tea table and pushed it determinedly towards the mini-cot. Climbing up onto the embroidered seat carefully, Bellatrix used the edge of the bassinet to keep herself upright as she peered down into it curiously. The thing staring back at her could only be described as... well, a thing. It looked like a human but it was much too small to be like her. "Hello?" Bellatrix asked slowly, reaching in a hand to smooth down the blanket. 'A.B.' was stitched into the corner with the family motto underneath. The thing stared past her as though she hadn't spoken at all. "...Papa says it's very rude when you don't respond to people who are talking to you, you know. You're the reason nobody was playing with me. That was really mean of you, you know, but that's all going to change – I'm your big sister, Papa said, so you have to listen to me now."

* * *

"She didn't waste any time, really," Narcissa said pensively, grateful to be finally through with that disgusting slush Andromeda tried to pass off as tea. Hopefully, she thought, the biscuits would taste better. Her sister had always been fussy about her biscuits and sweets and she doubted that much had changed. "It was just in her nature."

"You've to be kidding me, Narcissa," Andromeda stared at her in much the same way she had when she first opened the door, as though she was still very much unsure over whether or not she wanted to hex her. The wand was still tucked protectively up in her sleeve should she need it and the sick feeling churning in her stomach told her she might. Why was she listening to stories from the good ol' days about a woman who killed her only child? "You weren't even born then! How am I supposed to honestly believe you know all of that? From Bellatrix, of all people, who wouldn't talk about... for all I know you're stalling and something absolutely horrid is about to happen. I'm not sure why I should trust you."

"You promised me a conversation, Annie, and I'm sure you've not forgotten your manners," Narcissa reminded her through an impolite mouthful of biscuit, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. "This is what I've chosen to talk about. I told you that I understood your terms. There is nothing else I can do beyond that, but back to what I was saying – Bellatrix told me and I believed her. You weren't there, you had already left, and you didn't see the state she was in when you did. I'll get to that later, though. Now, as I was saying – there was a time the both of you wouldn't even include me. That one I remember for myself..."

* * *

1960. Summer was quite possibly one of Andromeda's favourite times of year - well, after autumn but that was more because she liked collecting the browned leaves and sometimes Druella even let her keep a few in her bedside drawer. While she could've easily gone without the plethora of garden parties, balls and pureblood functions that seemed to crop up every other weekend as the bored housewives attempt to outdo one another, the warm weather meant that their parents were far more lenient and their daily tutoring lessons didn't go quite as long as usual. It was all for what Cygnus called "compromise" and, although Andromeda couldn't spell the word, she knew it meant that if they did something fun they would have to do something less enjoyable later. Play outside? A little extra time had to be spent on their dance lessons. Have friends over for the afternoon? Embroider with Druella in the parlour the next morning. Today was different, however, as no compromise had been discussed. It was a bright Saturday afternoon and they were visiting their Auntie Walburga who was holding some sort of party to show off her new baby. For some reason, Druella had been extremely irate upon finding out that she had had a child at all but it didn't really matter to Andromeda. Everyone, she knew, was going to be extremely busy playing with Walburga's child that they weren't really going to care what she was doing. The same thing had happened when Narcissa was born and she was just another girl to make up three. This baby, though? Was heir to the Black fortune, whatever that was supposed to mean.

"Once you get to the back steps I want you to move down towards the back of the garden, alright? I want to show you something," Bellatrix whispered, shooting Andromeda a sharp grin that flashed her front teeth. She had been very secretive and smirky all morning, repeatedly patting her pockets down protectively as though something was about to jump out if she didn't. She had outright refused to let even a little slip out, assuring her younger sister that it would be entirely worth it if she joined her. "Just you and I, Meda. Cissy isn't old enough."

"Is it going to get us in trouble, Bella? Mother and Papa, not to mention Auntie Walburga and Uncle Orion, too, would be very angry if we did something to ruin today," Andromeda pointed out reasonably, eying her older sister warily. She didn't want to get in trouble today, not when they were allowed to play for as long as they wanted so long as they behaved. She couldn't deny, though, that the idea of a secret just between herself and Bellatrix was exciting. It made her feel older and included.

* * *

"I heard the whole conversation. I was standing behind the both of you – I wasn't deaf then and I'm not deaf now," Narcissa stated it as though it happened yesterday and she was still stung, but the emotion left her voice instantly as she cautiously leaned back in the lounge chair. Her unfinished business felt more and more like a petty argument as the moments dragged on, but she didn't particularly care by this point.

* * *

"Can I play, too?" Narcissa asked, curious blue eyes regarding her older sisters with innocent interest as they tried to walk away from her. She didn't know any better and tried to follow after them, but was stopped by Bellatrix before she could. "Mother said you both have to look after me today! Stop walking away right NOW or I'm TELLING!"

"Narcissa, go back to the house or I'll tell mother... why, I'll tell her you did something completely horrible and you won't be allowed out for weeks!" Bellatrix stated cruelly, ever the leader (and she looked the part, too. Being nearly ten-years-old, she was able to easily tower over her little sisters who barely scraped five and six respectively) as she grabbed Andromeda's hand and half-dragged the girl towards the back garden they were supposed to meet several minutes ago.

* * *

"For Salazar's sake, Cissa," Andromeda snapped, the pet name she herself hadn't heard in several years rolling almost too easily off the tip of her tongue. Both witches paused to look at each other before the elder shook her head roughly, thin fingers twisting into her apron out of nervous habit. "That was years ago. I'd hardly call it 'good times'. She made me put little frogs – that was what was in her pocket – into Sirius' crib. Why else do you think that woman who called herself his mother had a panic attack before we left? I don't – I don't even know why I'm discussing this with you. It happened years ago and it's hardly proof I'm like her or we had a solid relationship. I was six. Anything that might have been good between us was ruined the year I went to school."

* * *

1965. That was it – Andromeda had finally reached the castle. The train ride had been a rather awkward one in a compartment full of people she barely knew and all she had really wanted to do was venture out to find someone her own age to sit with, but Bellatrix wouldn't allow it and insisted she not leave her side so that was where she stayed the whole time. It was all forgiven and forgotten, though, the moment she laid eyes on the most magnificent sight she had ever seen. Hogwarts, a great castle lit up with torches and candles, was the school she had heard so much. An even better surprise was the fact that the threat of fighting off vampires and werewolves just to be sorted was a complete lie. Thank you, Rodolphus Lestrange. Bellatrix certainly hadn't discouraged him.

Pushing the thoughts out of her mind, Andromeda took a large breath and waited for her name to be called. She already knew where she was going, the same place all Blacks had for generations, but she couldn't help the way her pale face burned pink with nervousness as she wondered what would happen if she didn't.

"BLACK, ANDROMEDA!"

Andromeda nearly choked on the breath she had been holding as all eyes followed her up to the front of the Great Hall, but she was only vaguely aware of those of her sister and the boys who sat around her. They whispered among themselves as she sat down on the school and she could only imagine what they were talking about as the world went black. "Ah! Hello, my dear," a sly little voice sounded behind her left ear suddenly, making Andromeda jump. "Don't fret, don't fret – I'm not here to hurt you. Let's see... mmm, yes, there's that. Another Black, then? No guess where you're goi – oh, no, wait! What's this? You're fairly brave for one of your lot, but I think that goes hand in hand with that ambition of yours. How about...? No, no. That would never do. I assure you, Ms. Black; it's quite alright to tell that sister of yours 'No' sometimes. You'll regret it if you don't."

"Excuse me, Mr. Hat?" Andromeda whispered as quietly as she could, trying vainly to see through the dark.

"Yes, my dear?"

"I'd quite like to join my sister, please. Mother would be terribly angry if I didn't," she replied uneasily, her stomach doing flip flops as she feared that her worst nightmare was about to become quite real.

"But why diminish your potential? My word, I see such a bright young girl. I think you would be far more suited to Rowena's house. Yes, I think... oh, alright. If you're that sure it'd better be SLYTHERIN."

Andromeda jumped off the stool as soon as she could, the sound of loud applause ringing in her ears as she allowed the stress of the day melt away from her body. The relief was short-lived, however, once she reached the chair next to her oldest sister who didn't look the slightest bit pleased with her. "That took far too long, Meda," Bellatrix hissed under her breath, laying a hand on her arm in a gesture that couldn't be taken for anything but threatening. "We'll discuss this later."

* * *

"You were almost sorted into Ravenclaw? Did you tell Bellatrix?" Narcissa asked, a look of genuine bemusement flickering across her face as she processed this. She herself had been sorted almost instantly and so had Regulus. Sirius was the only one of them to have actually been sorted elsewhere and everyone knew what happened to him.

"Are you daft? Of course I didn't tell her. Can you imagine what would have happened if I did? Slytherin was always the best house. Ravenclaw was considered a passable substitute, but you know that that was always a load of toss to them," Andromeda replied, snorting in a most unladylike manner that earned a disapproving glance from the other woman. Her expression turned bittersweet and her lips turned up at the corners as she added, "but my daughter? My daughter was sorted into Hufflepuff and I've never been prouder than I was that day."

Stopping a moment to collect herself, Andromeda inhaled deeply and lowered her gaze to the drained teacup in her hands. "Though I've a feeling you know what happens next. It was your fourth year, fifth for me, wasn't it? I started seeing Ted the first year Bellatrix was out of school. He was so... nice. He didn't judge me for my family or treat me like an idol just because we were rich. I don't think he even really knew who we were," she gave a hollow laugh here, shaking her head with another deep breath, "I almost wish I had agreed to be sorted into Ravenclaw just to befriend him sooner than I did. What I wouldn't give for another year or two with him... we had been together for almost two years when you found out and owled home."

"I'd do it again," it was a simple, haughty statement that came from the blonde woman's mouth now as she shot her sister the disdainful look she had been withholding for most of their walk down memory lane. "What you did was wrong, Andromeda. You went against your whole family for poor muggleborn trash. What was right about that? You speak of love and how much happier you were without us, but I'm the one who still has her husband and son by her side. Certainly, I would do it again without hesitation and I would hope that you still have enough of sense to admit that you would have done the exact same thing in my position. I wanted to keep my family together."

* * *

1971. It was the first night of summer and Black Manor was alive with shrieked hexes and shouting. Bits of broken furniture littered the floor, a dangerous sort of mix and match that mingled with the glass of a shattered coffee table that had previously suffered at the hands of what was one of Bellatrix Lestrange's impressive temper tantrums. "How DARE you, Andromeda Black! Did you think you would get away with it?" Bellatrix demanded with a sneer, flicking her wand sharply at her younger sister who struggled to deflect the attack with her own. "Did you think nobody would ever find out that you've been playing whore to that mudblood piece of trash? If you did you're much stupider than I ever thought."

That was the night Andromeda left home for good, quite certain her mother was already half-way to her aunt's to have her blasted off the tree. She didn't care – it hurt to leave her family, the people who had raised her, but her future and everything she wanted was with Ted. Pausing only to utter a few final words, ones spat with all the venom she could muster for both of her sisters, Andromeda apparated out with a faint 'pop'.

"I never want to see either of you ever again."

* * *

2001. "And I'm keeping to that, Narcissa. I hope you've enjoyed your conversation and your tea, but they're both quite over now and I've fulfilled all I've promised. You can let yourself now," Andromeda said coldly, seventeen years of learning and being moulded beneath her mother's hand evident in her icy stare. Narcissa merely smiled in return.

"And you say you're nothing like her."