Goodbye, Nissa

Summary: One cloudy morning in 1970, a flash of light flew in Grimmauld Place, burning Andromeda from the Black family tapestry forever. However, no-one ever talks about the previous night, when the condemned woman came to say goodbye one last time.

Disclaimer: These brilliant characters do not belong to me, but to the equally brilliant Jo Rowling.

A woman robed in emerald green was hastening through the hallways of the Black family manor, holding her coat tightly around her as she walked through the coldness of her home. Well, former home, after what she was about to do.

Her flat heeled shoes made a soft tapping sound on the polished rosewood floors, the embroidered rug doing a little to muffle it as she reached familiar territory. She cast a quick glance at the dark wood door, the name of her elder sister escribed on it. If there was one person in the family that Andromeda Black was truly not going to miss, it was Bellatrix Lestrange.

Progressing past the first door, Andromeda approached the second, this time adorned with her own name. She slowly turned the silver handle, stepping into the room, so familiar, yet with an air of coldness about it. The room was almost bare, bar the extravagant furnishings, but it had no personality. There were no signs whatsoever that the seventeen-year-old girl had lived there since she was ten, as all of the belongings of the girl herself were packed in bags hidden below the grand staircase. Andromeda had many good memories of her life at Black Manor, almost as many as the bad, but on reflection, they all involved one person, holding her hands, wiping her tears, always by her side. Andromeda suddenly shuddered a little, before bolting from the room.

She found herself in the corridor once more, heading all the way down to the door at the end of it. The plaque read the name of the person she wanted to see the most, yet knew that she couldn't tell her of what she was about to do, for fear that she would break her heart. Of course, Andromeda knew that her youngest sister's heart would break when she found her sister's bed empty in the morning, but this way she would not have to see the young girl's tears.

Narcissa's room was quite obviously a Slytherin one, but not overpoweringly so, like Bellatrix's had been. The walls were a light, airy green with silver flowers climbing in patterns across the walls. The youngest Black had chosen the pattern as a very young girl and had kept it ever since, she loved it so much. The furniture was a smoothly cut rosewood, with flower motifs cut into them, another decision made in her younger days. Narcissa had so many flowers in her room as a reflection of her name, though the flowers were in fact roses, as opposed to daffodils, which the girl never really cared for.

Andromeda weaved through the piles of books, papers and quills that were Narcissa's extensive revision for her upcoming O.W.L. exams, as she would be beginning her fifth year at Hogwarts that coming September. She was an extremely dedicated student, never achieving under an 'E' in her life, another way that she differed from Bellatrix, who was lucky to achieve one 'A' in her entire school career, her Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. exam.

As she finally reached her sister's bedside, Andromeda could not help but let an amused sigh escape her lips. Narcissa was lying in the middle of her bed with her legs swung over the side of it, an open book by the side of her face, fast asleep. 'She must have fallen asleep while she was studying!' thought Andromeda, smiling fondly at the small girl. Barely even thinking about it, the middle Black sister closed the book, laying it on one of the piles she had weaved through, then turned back to Narcissa, lifting her gently underneath her covers and brushing a stray curl from her forehead. Andromeda then knelt down on the carpet beside her, brushing a few papers out of the way so she could sit down properly.

"I just really wanted to tell you, Nissa. That I'm sorry, that I love you, that... well, I want to say so many things that if I say them all, I'll be here 'til sunrise." she laughed sadly, stroking her sister's golden curls as she slept.

"I wish it didn't have to be like this. I always dreamed of walking down the aisle with my bridesmaids, Mother fussing, Bellatrix complaining about wearing purple and you just smiling the whole way through. But I won't get that now. I never thought that I'd have to choose between my family and my future, but now I do. And I wish I didn't." Andromeda took a deep breath, attempting to stop the tears that were gathering in her chestnut eyes from falling.

"This doesn't mean I'll forget you, Nis, because I won't. I'll never ever forget you. Every time I see a teddy bear, I'll remember how you never let Emerald out of your sight for a moment until you turned six. Every time I see a quill, I'll remember when you had to write a short essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts and you interpreted that as sixteen pages! Every time I see a tiara, I'll be reminded how you were always my little princess, and you always will be." By this point, the woman was almost sobbing, while Narcissa moved a little in her sleep.

"I love you, Nissa. Just... just don't forget me, yeah? You may never be mention me again, let alone see me, but... don't forget me. 'Cause I won't forget you. Not ever."

With her final words, Andromeda leant over and kissed Narcissa on the forehead, stroking her curls while her tears wetted them, making her stir a little more. Finally, the woman told herself that she must let go and climbed to her feet, casting one last glance at her sleeping sister before bolting from the room, bolting down the staircase and, a few minutes later, leaving the house for good.

Narcissa Black awoke early in the morning to the smell of burning and the sounds of screaming voices echoing through the household. Both intrigued and alarmed, she rose from her bed, pulled on a housecoat and ran down the staircase. She was about to enter the tapestry room, where the argument seemed to have flared from, when someone grabbed her arm. When she turned, just for a moment, she thought it was Andromeda. But it wasn't.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you, Cissy. They've been arguing since dawn and they don't need another daughter to walk into the firing line."

"Thanks for the advice, Bella." sighed Narcissa, nodding a little towards her sister before making for the stairs.

"Oh, Cissy?" called Bellatrix, causing Narcissa to turn around and face her.

"Yes, Bella?" she asked, a little frustrated by her sister's sugary tone, the tone she only used when she wanted something.

"You don't know who this letter belongs to, do you? It has a tiara drawn on it, that may be a clue-" Bellatrix stopped abruptly as Narcissa gasped loudly, descended the staircase and snatched the letter from the elder's hand, leaping up the staircase again.

Narcissa sprinted into her bedroom, locking the door with a key that was enchanted to leave the lock unaffected by the Alohomora spell, meaning she could be alone for a while when she opened the letter. Her hands shaking, the young girl broke the seal, unfolded the parchment slowly and began to read.

Nissa,
I know that you won't remember this, so I hope that you will read this carefully now, but last night, I did come and say goodbye to you before I left. I did that as a coward's way out, because I wanted to say goodbye personally, in case you didn't get this letter, but I didn't want to see your reaction when you found out that I was going to leave you.
This is very important, so please remember it; I love you. I've loved you ever since I first saw you after you were born and I will love you until the moment I die. This doesn't mean that I love Ted more, I love you both the same, but I had to get away from that life. It would've killed me to marry someone I didn't love, so don't you ever do that. No matter what Mother and Father say, if you don't love him, don't marry him, as you'd regret it for the rest of your life.
I hope you find your prince one day and that all your dreams come true, as some of mine did. You deserve it so much.
I'll never forget you, my little princess,
Love you always,
Meda.

The hand-drawn crown of the envelope began to blur and the colours ran down the paper as Narcissa's tears wetted the page. She clutched the letter to her chest to protect it, making sure not a single teardrop marred her sister's last words to her. However, as the teardrops ran down the page, Narcissa felt something else in the envelope. Pulling it out gently, attempting to save the parchment from the water, which she was glad she had done, as she caught sight of the reason for the paper's addition to the envelope.

The parchment was an oil painting, several years old, of Narcissa and Andromeda, at ages five and seven respectively, the former sat comfortably on the latter's lap, both smiling at the artist. Every so often, the young Narcissa would hug her teddy bear to her chest or Andromeda would kiss the top of her head.

The fifteen-year-old Narcissa knew, of course, that she would never see her sister again, would never be able to send her a present at Christmas or even speak her name without being reprimanded, but she had some comfort in the picture and also in the words written on the back.

This is how I shall always remember us. Goodbye Nissa.

A/N: I really wanted to write something about Andromeda and Narcissa, so please let me know how I did.