The Black Sisters Origins

Prologue: Reunion

2nd of June 1998, London, England

Andromeda sighed heavily.

It was exactly a month after the Battle of Hogwarts and exactly a month after Lord Voldemort was defeated once and for all. The wizarding world was ecstatic of course. The end of the second wizarding war been the subject to many joyous reunions and festive parties...

But for Andromeda Tonks, it was exactly a month after she had lost both her daughter and son-in-law...

Andromeda fought to hold back tears. Her beautiful, smart, funny and brave daughter was gone. She would never witness her Metamorphagus abilities, never see that vibrant bugglegum pink hair, never laugh at her clumsiness and never see her talk, walk or see that precious dimpled smile ever again...

There was no end and no beginning to her sorrow... Tears ran down her cheeks in a never-ending waterfall, no wind would dry them. Food tasted stale in her mouth and she choked on water. At night she couldn't sleep, for when she closed her eyes, she was plagued by horrifying nightmares of her daughter's lifeless body and her killer's sadistic cackle ringing in her ears... She would always wake up drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. 

Her pain was still raw and she still grieved deeply, even though she was now busy with looking after their orphaned son - her precious grandson - little Teddy Lupin... His toothless grin, chubby cheeks and that mop of turquiose hair which would change according to his emotions - just like his mother's - was all that was left of Nymphadora. She nor her husband Remus would ever see their son grow up... Her heart ached just thinking about it.

She had first lost her husband Ted and now her beloved daughter - how much more grief can one person handle before going crazy?  That absurd thought coincided with a dawning realisation and Andromeda nearly laughed out loud. She was after all, from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. Madness comes from within in that cursed family, she though with a bitter smile, right Bella?

Andromeda sat there, alone in small but cosy muggle café, stirring her cup of now stone-cold tea absentmindedly and dwelling in her thoughts. She was starting to get a headache from over-thinking too much. But suddenly, she remembered why she was there. She was supposed to meet someone, someone she hadn't seen for a very long time and who she wasn't sure she even wanted to see...

And then she saw her: walking towards her was a tall, slim and attractive woman - probably in her early forties, her patrician beauty still present. She had pale skin, icy blue eyes and her light blonde hair was pinned up in a bun, decorated with a black hat. She was wearing a simple but elegant black dress - which was impractical since it was summer and thus boiling hot. Her look was complete with pearl jewellery, black clutch and black heels. Andromeda felt severely underdressed in her cotton flower dress, but oh well.

Walking towards Andromeda with aristocratic bearing was her younger sister: Narcissa Malfoy. Andromeda had to resist rolling her eyes at her little sister's choice of wardrobe: if Narcissa didn't want to draw attention to herself and to the fact that she was indeed a witch, then why did she wear this? It was much too fancy and formal for day wear, and she looked like she had just stepped out of the 1960's - or was headed to a god-damn funeral. But Andromeda had to at least give her little sister credit for actually setting foot in muggle London.

Andromeda hadn't seen Narcissa in over two decades and she wasn't sure she even wanted to see her. They went too far back, they shared too many painful memories. When they were little girls, still running around in the gardens dressed in pinafores and playing with fairies, they were very close. But as they grew older, they also grew appart and the two sisters eventually went down drastically different paths...