FicWad

I have returned! After less than a year this time! Now, how happy will you be about it? For those who know my previous work, the opening explanation will look somewhat familiar.

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Witches’ and wizards’ appearance is determined by several factors. Like most human beings, they tend to inherit their features from their parents. However, their magic affects their looks in two other, related ways.

One of these is that their magic limits the apparent effects of the passage of time, until their magic begins to fade in extreme old age, or unless they prefer a venerable appearance like Albus Dumbledore. The other is that their magic tends to keep them looking like their self-image; in short, magic users tend to look the way they believe that they should. (The Blacks had an especially strong tendency for this. Nymphadora was one of those few whose magic was directed enough to give them conscious control over their appearance, but the difference between herself and her relatives was in degree, not in kind.)

Andromeda Black had been happy to take advantage of this, and Ted was glad for it. At forty-three, she looked at least fifteen years younger. In the last couple of years this had led some of their acquaintances to start muttering about how she’d kept herself looking so young, but Ted insisted that he loved her the way she was.

That was why it was such a shock to Ted when he saw his wife next to him in bed that morning. Lines were on her face that hadn’t been there last night, and grey hairs studded her dark brown locks. Even her skin felt rougher. It was as if she’d literally aged a decade overnight.

“Ted, I’ve been thinking,” she whispered. “About our meeting this morning...”

“Did you sleep at all last night?” Ted asked anxiously.

“No,” Andromeda replied. “I’ve never told you very much about my family, have I?”

“I didn’t want to pry too much, honey,” Ted soothed. “I figured that you would talk about them when you wanted to, and I haven’t told you everything about all of my family tree.” He reached out to stroke her hair, but she stopped his hand.

“Ted, dear, there are a lot of secrets about my family that are going to come out today. Even people in the magical world would be shocked, and I’m not sure,” she sniffed, “that you’d even be able to understand what they’ve done. What members of my family have done, and are doing.” She swallowed and regained control of herself. “This might be a good morning to go to work, Ted. And if you want to spend the night in town...” Just as she started to break down, Ted reached out and stroked her cheek.

“Andromeda, listen to me,” Ted said, slowly and calmly. “For twenty-five years, you’ve stood by me through everything that life has thrown at us. You never complained when I had to work extra hours trying to become a partner at the firm. You’ve joined me at social functions that you’ve never have gone to on your own- and I certainly can’t blame you. And you’ve done so much of the work in raising Nymmy to be a beautiful, intelligent, and honest young woman, with a good job and well-established on her own in your world. Nothing you can say, nothing that I can hear today can change any of that. I will stand by you, ‘Dromeda. Now and forever.”

Andromeda sniffed again, holding back her tears. “But Ted, what if...”

“Maybe I don’t say it as often as I should, ‘Dromeda, but it’s still true. I love you. And I always will.”

Andromeda smiled weakly. “Ted, there are reasons that I fell in love with you all those years ago. Thank you for reminding me what they were- are.”

“You’re welcome, ‘Dromeda. Now, I think we’ve still got a few hours before our guests arrive. I’ll need your help in making the place ready for them. You’ll need to tell me if there’s anything I need to do or not do to keep from offending them and make them more at home.”

*********

Preparations started a little later at Grimmauld Place. Irma was up early, cooking a big breakfast for everyone, and stopped by each room in turn to let everyone know that it was time to awaken. The Black sisters were already up and getting ready, while Luna and Hermione were still in bed when Irma called on them. When she visited Harry, though, she found him already dressed in a t-shirt and jeans and pacing around his room, which had been a guest bedroom the previous year.

“Harry, are you ready to have breakfast? It’d be a good idea to eat before we visit. It’s the polite thing to do,” Irma said.

“I’m not very hungry, Irma,” Harry answered quietly.

Irma walked over to Harry, placing her hand on his shoulder, almost as high as she could reach. “Harry, remember that you’ll be among friends today. We’re all on your side against... whoever we’ll have to deal with in the future. There’s no need to be nervous.”

Harry sighed, “I’ll try, Irma. But you have to admit, the last couple of weeks have...”

“If anyone should be nervous, it should be me!” Irma continued, laughing until she broke down into a coughing fit. “I’ve got to talk to a grandson-in-law who might not know that I exist and a great-granddaughter I didn’t know I had. I’ve got to make a good first impression, you know! Now, I’m not a great cook, but I think I’ve avoided burning everything too badly.”

Indeed, Irma did a fine job with breakfast, and Harry came down to see Hermione and Luna casually dressed ad already sawing through stacks of pancakes. “Have Bellatrix and Narcissa come down yet?” Harry asked.

“Not yet, Harry,” Luna said, looking calm as usual.

And then, they did. For a few seconds, everyone was too surprised to react.

Perhaps that had something to do with the way they were dressed. Bellatrix had come down wearing a dark red formal dress, with a scoop neck revealing some of her considerable cleavage and slit to expose most of her right leg. Narcissa’s dress was light blue and shot through with silver edging and lace, more modestly cut than her sister’s, but still hinting at the impressive figure beneath.

“Um, Bellatrix, Narcissa? Why are you dressed like that?” Harry finally managed to ask.

“Because these were the only kinds of dresses available in our room, my Lord- Harry,” Bellatrix answered. “There was an entire closet full of dresses in our room, and these were the least gaudy of the lot.”

“Apparently, our loving parents,” Narcissa continued, voice dripping with sarcasm, “were thinking of showing us off at some point, but decided not to. At least I hope to God they didn’t.”

Harry sat down. “I...” he caught a ragged breath and started over. “Irma, how should the rest of us be dressed? Because I don’t think I have any formal clothes here.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Harry. Of course, back in my day, things were different!” She said, voice rising. “Why, in my day, dresses like theirs were expected for any kind of social function. I remember all the hours I spent fighting to get into dresses like those to stand around like some outsized Christmas tree ornament...”

“That’s alright, Irma, I mean...” Harry tried to stop her, but Irma was in high dudgeon now.

“In fact,” Irma said, voice rising further, “whenever we had company, that cretin Pollux required me to wear a corset!”

Harry tried to imagine Irma in a corset. The picture didn’t want to form. The visual would be something like shoving a Quaffle through a toilet paper tube.

Bellatrix walked up to Harry, placing a hand on his shoulder and bending down slightly. “Harry, there are several corsets in that closet as well. We could wear them if you want. It’s up to you.” Harry looked at her to respond, and immediately regretted it for two reasons. First, turning to face her placed him face to face with her bosom, and second, the thought of enhancing that bosom with corsetry, pushing those breasts up and out, made for another mental picture, one that didn’t want to leave.

“I wouldn’t want to make you suffer,” Harry said slowly. He didn’t notice Hermione’s frown behind him; Luna sat placidly as she usually did.

“Oh, that isn’t a problem if the corsets are properly fitted,” Narcissa answered. “Judging by the way these dresses fit,” she continued while running her hands down her sides, “whoever arranged for our clothing measured us carefully. Poor fit would be the least of our problems.”

Shaking his head, Harry said “No. I’m not going to make you wear corsets. Tonks has always been nice to us, and surely the same is true of Andromeda and Ted; they wouldn’t expect us all to come over in our formal clothes. Speaking of which, can you tell me a little more about how you and Andromeda get along?”

The sisters took their seats, Bellatrix looking a bit disappointed. “She was our middle sister, and our parents didn’t focus on her as much as they did on us. That’s probably how she got enough freedom to date Ted and then elope with him,” Narcissa explained.

“Ted wasn’t rich, but he was making decent money as a stockbroker,” Bellatrix continued. “Andromeda had only whatever money she could save from her allowance, and hadn’t had much of a chance to interview for jobs. Our parents discouraged us from seeking work that was ‘too unladylike’ or ‘unbefitting our noble blood.’”

“Then how did they make their living?” Hermione asked.

“Rent from ancestral properties, trading goods- some of them even legal- and the occasional bit of antiquities dealing, again occasionally legal,” Bellatrix detailed. “They did their best to ensure that we didn’t know the details- we weren’t to worry our heads about such mundane affairs as money- but we had a general idea.”

“To get back to your original question,” Narcissa interceded, “we never had a serious fight, and were friends until she married; after that, we didn’t hear from her often because our parents did their best to forget that she existed. The question now is, how do we remind her that we aren’t the villains that our doubles are today?”

“Perhaps you could tell things about herself that only you would know,” Luna suggested. “Where you went on holidays, what toys you played with, that kind of thing.”

“But will she remember those things after thirty years and more?” Narcissa pondered.

“Not to interrupt you,” Irma called, “but I need to speak with Kreacher before we depart, to give him some instructions about what he should do if someone else, like this Dumbledore, comes calling while we’re away. Harry, you may want to come with me.” Harry left the table to join Irma in the kitchen.

For a minute or so, Hermione and Luna just looked at the Black sisters. Neither pair knew exactly what to talk about now that they were alone.

“I had a boyfriend just before we were... put to sleep,” Narcissa said softly. “We met just in the last few months. I wonder whatever has happened to him since then.”

“Can you tell me his name?” Luna asked. “Perhaps we’ve heard of him.”

“I don’t know about that,” Narcissa replied. “He was a Muggle. I don’t think our parents knew about him, but they might have... and that’s why they decided to do what they did.”

“None of my friends knew about him,” Bellatrix replied. “I doubt that news would have come to them that way. Besides, they all knew how much we hated them.”

“What was his name?” Hermione persisted.

Before Narcissa could answer, Irma came back into the room. “Kreacher has his instructions, based on what you said last night,” Irma said, nodding at Bellatrix. “Now let’s get the Floo powder out so we can pay my relatives a visit!”

**********

Over the last hour, Ted and Andromeda had prepared the living room for their guests, with two couches arranged for their use facing the fireplace that Irma had appeared in the previous day across from the fireplace and to its right for someone emerging from it. To the left of the fireplace was Ted’s old, battered recliner and comfortable chairs for Andromeda and Tonks, who had not emerged from her bedroom yet. Andromeda had composed herself since her conversation with Ted, but a few gray hairs still showed, as did a few lines that hadn’t been there the previous afternoon.

At nine o’clock, just as it had the previous day, the fireplace flame went from red and yellow to green, signaling their guests’ imminent arrival. Andromeda pressed the stone in her pocket and said, “Nymmy, come out now. We can’t wait any longer. Our guests are on their way.”
A minute later, Irma Crabbe became the first guest to come through the flames, grunting from the effort of bending down and crawling. “Andromeda, dear,” she coughed, “thank you for having us. We’re not going to be too much trouble, are we?”

“No, Grandma, none at all,” Andromeda assured her.

“And you must be Ted!” Irma smiled, extending a hand which he shook. “I’m glad to meet you. You’ll need to tell me about yourself at some point today; it’s been a while since I’ve talked to Muggles at length.”

Ted returned her grin, somewhat shakily. “I would like that, but Andromeda isn’t very... optimistic about how this meeting is going to go. She’s worried that you’ll shock me.”

“I’ll try not to, but we have a lot of history to go over,” Irma finished, walking back over to Andromeda just as Harry and Hermione emerged from the fireplace.

“Harry! Glad to finally get to meet you,” Ted said, walking over to shake his hand. “I’ve heard so much about you from ‘Dromeda and the wizarding papers over the last few years.”

“You can’t believe everything you read, Mr. Tonks,” Harry answered cautiously. “Not everything they say about me is true.”

“Harry, I know about the press in our world,” Ted replied, more gravely. “I know full well how events and words can be twisted against you. Tonks has had nothing but praise for your abilities and your good heart. And please call me Ted. And, Hermione, is it?” he continued, greeting the brunette. “I’ve heard a lot about you, too. I’m glad that you’ve been such a good friend to Harry; it sounds like he needs one.”

“Thank you, Mr.- Ted,” Hermione replied softly.

Just then, Nymphadora appeared at the edge of the living room, well behind the chairs where her parents were standing. She was in a new pair of pajamas, white and pink and fluffy, which made her dark brown hair stand out more in Harry’s eyes. She opened her mouth to say something... but then Bellatrix climbed out of the fireplace.

With a wordless scream of hatred, Nymphadora charged toward Bellatrix. Harry had just enough time to get between them before the youngest Tonks started to throw roundhouse punches toward her cousin’s apparent killer.

“Tonks! Stop! Please! We can explain!” Harry cried, dodging blows from Nymphadora.; Harry stood between the women, each of them slightly taller than him, with a hand on each of their shoulders, trying to keep them from attacking each other. More accurately, trying to stop Tonks; Bellatrix stood upright and unmoving, a sad look in her eyes, making no effort to attack or defend herself. Behind Tonks, her parents were screaming to try to get her attention, without success.

“This isn’t the woman who-” Harry was cut off as one of Tonks’ punches landed on his cheek, sending him stumbling down (fortunately, away from the fire and toward the couch opposite) just as Narcissa was scrambling out of the fire.

This had an immediate effect on the Black sisters. Both dropped into fighting stances facing Tonks, and Nymphadora saw a glint in Bellatrix’ eye that looked all too familiar- like the one she’d seen during the duel at the Department of Mysteries.

Before anything more could happen, Andromeda Tonks fired a Stunning Spell to stop the fracas. Not knowing what would happen if she stunned her sister, she instead shot it at her daughter, who froze in her stance, fists upraised. Immediately, Bellatrix and Narcissa both raced over to their fallen family leader.

“My Lord? Are you alright?” Bellatrix asked with great concern. Harry was groggy but still conscious, looking up at the black-haired woman and blonde bending over him, trying very, very hard not to look at the plump breasts straining Bellatrix’ dress...

At that point, Luna became the last visitor to come out of the fireplace. She cocked her head slightly and calmly stated, “I’m glad to see that our meeting’s off to a good start.”