Who: Andromeda Tonks and Narcissa Malfoy
What: Drinks, chatting, and lamenting over their ages...
When: Friday night
Where: Some really fabulous lounge...really
Status: Complete
Rating: PG




Well, she couldn't exactly say this was where she'd planned to be at this point in her life. Andromeda had grown used to the idea of not having her own family in her life. That's what Ted's family was for. To be there when she needed a niece or a nephew to cuddle, to give her a family unit to lean on. And then, everything had changed. Narcissa and her family were a part of Andromeda's own now, too. And she loved Draco. Whether he realised how much remained to be seen, but he was her nephew whether he liked that fact or not. Kaleigh Nott had grown to be a wonderful friend, and Andromeda was growing to love both she and Teddy as if they were a part of her own family. Just as much as she was looking forward to cuddling Dora's children someday, she knew there'd be a place in her heart for Draco's, and for Teddy's, too.

Just not yet!

She didn't even want Dora up and having children yet, and she had six years on Draco. Oi. Ted was being a typical man about it, defending Draco, saying everyone made mistakes, blah blah. He was probably sneaking him out to pubs and slapping him on the back with an 'atta boy' in the process. Ugh. But the ladies? Oh, the ladies were a different story. And Andromeda knew she needed girl time. It had been too long since she'd had any and now? Well, she wasn't planning on taking Narcissa out to celebrate exactly, but she had a sister now. And she wanted to be there for her.

Instead of some dark, dingy pub, Andromeda picked a lounge for their outing. Somewhere quiet, out of the way, a live piano player in the evenings, and classy but simple drinks. Let the boys do their Quidditch cheering and beer chugging down at the Three Broomsticks. Andromeda's sister deserved the best.

The last thing Narcissa had expected was for her baby boy to go and act so stupidly. Hadn't he learned anything from his earlier rash actions? Narcissa didn't think she had ever once been so mad at him before then; not when he wandered off to the creek, not when he destroyed her sitting room...never! He had always been her golden child. What in the world had he been thinking? Or not thinking? She had raised a gentleman, hadn't she? It was enough to make her cry and Narcissa was sick of tears. She had thought they were nearly past their troubles, but it seemed a whole new set had been delivered to them via Pansy and Draco's careless behavior. She was grateful Draco wanted to marry the girl, but the reasonable, more modern, part of Narcissa fully believed he was way too young. She might have loved Pansy and had planned on the pair winding up together, but that didn't mean she intended it at nineteen! Lucius, of course, was furious, but Narcissa didn't care about proprietary when it came to her sweet angel. She agreed they coudn't let a Malfoy go, but did it really mean Draco had to throw away his life in marrying so young? What was the point of fortune if they couldn't even take care of their son's mistake? Narcissa had no problem raising the baby. Why bother the children with it? Yet, even Narcissa knew Draco was having none of it. The foolish boy seemed excited. Excited!

All the thoughts almost made Narcissa cancel on Andromeda. She would just dampen the whole night anyway, right? However, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She treasured the time she got to "make up" with her older sister and, truthfully, she needed Andi just then. Badly. Lucius' temper only hurt the situation; Narcissa needed someone to vent to and wasn't that what sisters were for? Though which one Narcissa really wanted to vent about remained to be seen...

She showed up a few moments late; the popular "fashionably late" entrance still ingrained into her soul made sure Narcissa was late even when she intended on being time. She wore light blue robes and her hair hung in loose waves around her face. Lucius had even managed to compliment her before she left the manor, but Narcissa wasn't about to make his night a happy one unless he shaped up about the whole Draco situation. She knew her charms and what to hold over her silly husband's head...

"Andi!" She said in a quiet voice though her smile showed she was glad to have been invited. "Darling." She swooped in to land a kiss on the woman's cheek. "How are you?" she asked, taking a step back to look at her sister. She still hadn't gotten over looking at her and memorizing her features like she might vanish again.

Andromeda was on her feet the moment she saw her little sister. She'd never, ever again take advantage of having the woman in her life. When she'd been a teenager, it had just seemed a given that Narcissa was there. Unfortunately, the same also went for Bellatrix, but that was something that Andromeda had finally just grown used to. And maybe that had been the ultimate problem. It was because Bella was such a constant in her life that she'd pushed so hard to get away. And then, in turn, she'd been forced to push Cissa away, too.

Really, it was just bad all around.

But that was then. Bella was gone, for better or for worse, and Andromeda and Narcissa were the only Black girls left. And from that moment on, Andromeda vowed to be there for her baby sister. So she took Cissa's shoulders in her hands and kissed her back, briefly, before looking her over. "You're looking well," she said quietly, touching her sister's cheek before gesturing that she should have a seat. "How are you, sweetheart, really?"

Narcissa always made it a point to look well with the lone exception being that awful time under the Dark Lord. She used her looks a a shield. So long as she appeared calm and collected, the world would just have to believe it. Hell, she'd believe it. Mostly anyway. It was harder to delude herself when it came to her son. "I'm fine, love," she replied, shrugging her delicate shoulders. "There isn't much to do now, is there? I've no choice in matters." She hated that feeling. She had thought it as a little girl when she was forced away from her sister and she had felt it again when Voldemort beckoned her family and yet again when the Ministry bombarded her. She was tired of feeling like she had no choices in her own life, but, sometimes, she really didn't, did she? How could she tell her nearly grown son he was forbidden from marrying? Looking at Andromeda, Narcissa knew she had to keep those thoughts to herself when it came to Draco or she'd lose him like she had lost her sister all those years ago.

She perched in her seat, carefully folding a napkin over her lap. "How are you? Ted? Nymphadora?" Her smile brightened on thinking about her niece. "It's been awhile," she lamented. "We can't let time get away from us." Not when they had lost so much of it already.

She seemed well enough. Andromeda watched the younger woman carefully. Their family had always been taught to put on a brave face, however. To act as if everything was fine when everything was very, very wrong.

But she wouldn't say anything of the sort. She simply reached forward, resting her hand on Cissa's lap. "We're all brilliant, really. Dora's doing well, I think, from what all she tells me. She's getting to that age where only half of anything that happens is worth informing your mum of." Though she laughed, the sound was a little strained. Empty nest had finally hit her, and it hit hard. And Cissa's current plight put everything into perspective. Soon, her own little girl would be having little ones. How was that for a terrifying thought? "Ted made you all some baked goods, by the way, but you're just going to have to come visit to get them. Better than anything an elf would dredge up."

Narcissa cast Andromeda a grateful look at the touch as she brushed warm fingers across the hand sitting on her knee. "Nothing that some muffins can't fix; is that right?" She chuckled though her eyes ducked down as muffins reminded her of cupcakes and birthday parties. Pretty soon they'd be celebrating a new little life and as much as she wanted to be excited about it, she couldn't pretend that she felt something she didn't. She had thought the news of being a grandmother would fulfill her last purpose in life, but it just sickened her. The fact that it might not have just been Draco and Pansy's age that caused those feelings made Narcissa feel even worse. Granted, she really did feel they had been foolish, but it was also a reminder of all the babies Narcissa had been unable to birth. It was a horrid thought and Narcissa hated herself for it. "We...I'll visit soon." She could make no promises for Lucius obviously, but she also couldn't speak on Draco's behalf. Not anymore...not when he was becoming a father and husband.

Andromeda's eyebrows lifted as she again watched her baby sister. No matter how she seemed outwardly, she wasn't handling the news well. And she didn't really expect her to be. So, ignore the pink hippogriff in the room, or speak up? "Used to be Dora's theory," she said gently. "And brownies. Oh, and fresh banana bread." Oh, may as well go for it. What could it hurt? "Cissa, he's young, but he is an adult, you know. I'm not thrilled with it either, but it could be much, much worse."

Much worse. It was true and Narcissa well knew it. After all, it had been barely two years before when she feared her son wouldn't survive to see his seventeenth birthday. "Worse," she echoed. "It nearly was, wasn't it?" She withdrew her hand to wrap her arms about herself. "I'm not sure what there is to say about it. Lucius is furious. Draco thinks it's all going to smell like roses...I...I'm too bloody young to be a grandmother!" Narcissa groaned, but laughed quickly after. "I can't...you teach them the best you can and they...were they even listening?" Maybe it was a silly question to ask where Draco was concerned. When had ever listened to anything?

Okay, she was sympathetic, really she was. But Andromeda couldn't help the slightest of giggles. "You're not too terribly young, love, I have to say it. You're too beautiful to be a grandmother, perhaps, but not too young." Screw it. She got up and moved around to her sister's side, pulling the seat closer and sliding her arm around Cissa's thin shoulders. "He's stubborn, independent, and his own man. Like mother, like son?" There'd been times when it seemed Narcissa Black Malfoy would simply roll over and let the world kick her. But her spirit had shown more than once, and Andromeda knew it was a trait her son carried as well.

"That's a terrible thing to say!" Despite the words, Narcissa leaned into her sister's shoulder. She did feel slightly ridiculous, being in public and all, but it wasn't like she hadn't grown accustomed to others looking at her like she was some sort of leper. "I've been meticulous about my aging charms, I'll have you know." She straightened up, looking playful. "I do think he takes after me more. Don't tell Lucius." She accepted some wine from a passing waiter. She sipped it, eyebrows raised. "Dora's a great deal like you too, you know. I bet you'd change your hair if you could. In fact, I think green might look lovely..."

Andromeda rolled her eyes, an amused grin flickering over her face. "It'd look lovely with my eyes, don't you think? I have considered a colouring charm, but why should I when red is naturally so appealing?" She attempted to look innocent, but poked Narcissa's arm in a gesture easily mistakable for a thirteen year old. After grabbing a glass of her own, she leaned back, a smirk flickering her face. "You know, he is terribly handsome. Draco, I mean. I thank the Black good looks for that one."

"Oh, you!" She instinctively poked her back despite nearing "grandmotherhood" and being far too regal for such things. "And he is, isn't he?" She couldn't help grinning proudly. "Again, Lucius tries to take all that credit..." She ran a hand through the red hair they had been discussing only a moment earlier. "It's all us," she declared. "We'll just let him keep the Malfoy sanity is all."

Biting her tongue to keep from making an unwelcome comment about the Malfoy lack of sanity, Andromeda grinned at Narcissa's touch. "He's a good boy, you know that don't you?" Her voice took on a slightly more serious tone.

"Good boys don't land themselves into such trouble," Narcissa reminded her sister. "I mean...I worry about him. I suppose it comes with the territory." She patted Andromeda's leg. "Don't tell me you don't still worry over Dora...I mean dating an older man?" Narcissa was grateful to Remus for helping Teddy and she did feel he was a good man, but she knew she'd have been a bit worried had Dora been her daughter. Still, she had meant what she had said during that long ago lunch meeting. They were a good pair from what she saw.

Andromeda caught her breath, then exhaled slowly. She'd always liked Remus. First as Sirius' best mate, then as a man she simply knew around London. But adjusting to her daughter dating him had been an entirely other story. "He's good to her," she said quietly. "He loves her. It took me a long time to see that. And in the end, Ciss? That's all I want for her. He makes her happy." Daring to 'go for it', she took another breath and considered. "Which, in the end? Is all that should matter for Draco. Our parents didn't want me marrying Ted and having Dora, but I've never been happier than I am right now."

"And I'm glad for that. Really, I am." Narcissa paused, trying to find a way to explain things in a way that wouldn't offend her sister. "It's just...he...I'm afraid he has this vision of what his family will be like and maybe that's because..." Her eyes glistened as tears formed in the corners of her light eyes. "That's because he's been so unhappy in ours." She held a hand up even before Andromeda could get a word in. "If that's the truth, then he'll never be happy. He'll always think..." Her heart sunk, thinking maybe Draco wasn't so unlike her, after all. "Lucius is everything to me. I know you might not understand, but..." She sighed. "There are still times I think it should be easier or better or...just more, you know? But perhaps my expectations had always been too high?" She finished her drink and placed it on the table next to them. "You had this whirlwind fantasy. I mean...I always thought it was romantic. My marriage?" She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. "It was planned. It sort of takes away the romance."

As much as it pained Andromeda to say it, she smiled and took her sister's hand for a quick squeeze. "But you grew to love him, didn't you?" Oh, Andromeda would've hated it, certainly. But that didn't mean such marriages didn't always work. "Draco must know that. I don't know that it's so much that he's unhappy in your family, Cissy. He knows how much you love him, what you've given for him. But that doesn't mean he doesn't want to try and one up you. Come on, admit it. You started your marriage determined your family was going to be better than Mother and Father's." Andromeda knew she had, but that was partially because the pair had always felt so cold to their middle child. She wouldn't have that, not in her life. What she wanted was warmth and comfort and plenty of love, all of which she got from Ted.

Narcissa smiled though it was a small, wistful one. "I did," she admitted softly. "He'd do anything for us." The fact that she was sitting in that lounge with her "fallen" sister was proof of that. Lucius was a proud man and he had every right to expect his wife to obey his wishes, but he allowed Cissa her freedom. He always had. Looking back, Narcissa had stayed more chained to her parents and their memory than her husband. Lucius, ultimately, wanted his family to be happy. She wasn't so sure her parents always had the same wish. How could they if they had cast their daughter so coldly aside? It was difficult to think on all those years later, but Narcissa wished she had held the courage when they were alive to ask the questions that flooded her mind in the present. "Do you think they did? Care for each other, I mean?"

Did they? Andromeda had often wondered. "No," she finally confessed, lowering her eyes to keep from meeting Narcissa's dead on. She was grateful that the man their parents had chosen for her baby sister had turned out alright. But she couldn't respect most anything else Druella and Cygnus Black had done. "I think they did what they had to do. I think it's why Mother couldn't stand that I wouldn't bend to their ways and why Father always seemed to look differently on you and I for not being boys." And then, treading into almost dangerous territory, she added in a whisper, "And I think that's why Bellatrix ended up how she did. I never want that for my family. To feel that sort of pressure."

"No," Narcissa said sharply, surprising herself. "Bellatrix made her choices. She'd have..." She bit back the rest of her angry words. She felt guilty even thinking such horrible things. Her oldest sister had, after all, taught Draco to defend himself. Still, Narcissa couldn't help recalling her taunts and thinking she'd have given Draco over in a heartbeat. And she had tried to harm Andromeda's only child, hadn't she? And Sirius...it was all too much to consider. "Well." She smoothed out her robes, trying to pretend her little outburst never occurred.

Andromeda's smile was shaky, but it was there. Yes, Bella would have made her own choices, either way. It went hand in hand with how stubborn Andromeda and Narcissa were. She was, after all, as much a part of them as they were of each other. But if their father hadn't made her into the son he hadn't had? Would things have been any different? Maybe if Andi herself had been more supportive, had tried to reach out to her sister more?

But that was guilt she simply couldn't allow herself to carry. Sirius was dead because of that woman. She'd nearly killed Dora. Andromeda had known, as she sat at Dora's side in St. Mungo's, that she could never truly forgive her elder sister. She didn't deserve her forgiveness. And as much as she wished things could've been different, she could honestly say she had no sadness over the woman's death. "He's better than all of us, you know. And if he wants to work to create his own vision of a loving family... Sweetheart, we should help him, not hinder him. I know Dora's probably over the moon to be Auntie Dora."

Kaleigh had been looking on the bright side too. Or trying anyway. But Narcissa still wasn't sure anyone would be so quick to happiness had they been in her high heels. Nevertheless, Draco needed his mummy and that was one responsibility Narcissa never shirked so she wasn't about to start. "Of course I'm going to help him. I've kept Lucius from hexing him, haven't I?" It was mostly a joke though Narcissa could still see Lucius' angry face when Draco broke the news. "And what about you? Are you ready to be great Auntie Andi?" She giggled like a little girl. "Oy, we are old."

Despite herself, Andromeda beamed. "Actually, yes, I am. Sure, it'd be nice if the situation had been a bit different. But I know I just got lucky Dora waited as long as she did to come about. It could happen to anyone...even if they are putting the buggy before the horse or however it goes. Ted's mum says it sometimes?" That and something about buying milk from a cow? Going on thirty years with muggle in-laws and Andromeda still had no idea. But that part was neither here nor there. "At the end of the day, it's still a baby who needs to be loved. With two young and wonderful but inexperienced parents who are going to need all the support they can get."

Narcissa tried to follow the whole horse and buggy scenario, but she wasn't really sure what it had to do with babies. Muggles never would cease to confuse her. Still, her sister had a point. "There's no way I'm turning them away," she vowed. "I just wish they'd wait for the marriage bit for awhile. I mean...they do have quite a few adults willing to help here." She gripped her sister's hands. "And I'm so glad you are one of them."

Flicking her tongue over her lower lip, Andromeda smiled almost bashfully as she held her sister's hands in hers. "I wasn't able to be there for him when he was little. I don't want to repeat that." Her expression was wistful, imagining a beautiful little version of Draco. Though Pansy was as dark as he was light, so anything was possible for this little one. "He's just trying to do what's right by her, and I understand it. A long engagement, maybe? That might help a bit."

Narcissa felt the familiar guilt stab at her heart when that little fact was mentioned. She hadn't just denied her sister, but he own son. It was a bitter potion to swallow, but Narcissa tried not to let the thoughts show on her face. "I fear he's running head first into this. I do hope she has a bit more sense. We'll see, I suppose. At least we'll get to wear beautiful dresses for the occasion?" The night had been serious enough; it was time to accept what was happening and start dealing.

"Already picked mine," Andromeda said, attempting to sound teasing. "Green, wouldn't you know it? Because what proper Slytherin would go to a Slytherin wedding in anything but," she joked. Then she reached out, tweaking her baby sister's chin lightly. "Except you. Blue, Mrs. Malfoy, and nothing but the best for the mother of the groom."