Stand Off, Trade Off

~*~*~*~*~*~

When the group of people in the kitchen rushed to the noise above them, they were met with a large surprise.

"Hello, Narci." Andromeda grinned at the two blondes at the front of the entrance.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny pushed their way to the front of the crowd and gaped at what they saw. Narcissa and Draco Malfoy were standing in the front entrance.

"Hello, Andi." The blonde witch grinned back.

"INSUBORDINATTION! DEFILERS! ALL OF YOU! OUT! OUT I SAY! GET OUT OF MY HOU--"

"OH SHUT UP!"

Both the Black sisters had turned sharply and yelled at the portrait. Andromeda was content to stay back but Narcissa stalked towards the painting.

"Mother, please...please for the love of Merlin, stop destroying things." Draco pleaded. He was leaned against a wall and Andromeda came and leaned against it along side him.

"Has she gone on her daily spree already? Why, it's only past noon."

Draco snorted and crossed his arms.

"There's more than two a day now. I believe the only day she stopped was the day she found out Lucius finally got socked into Azkaban. The only day of peace. Now it's burn and destroy." Draco's lip had automatically curled back when speaking of his father. Imagine that. He was tense and Andromeda saw and tried to change the subject.

"So, the news today brought no peace?"

Draco swung his head around from his mother to his aunt and sent her an incredulous look. "She went through the halls breaking every thing imaginable then just went around repairing it. Ten minutes later, she's back down the halls breaking them again."

Andromeda grinned and looked back to where the tall blonde was in a fierce discussion with Dumbledore. "Poor thing."

"Poor thing? Poor vases. She repeated that whole process twelve times. I'm surprised she contained herself walking through the door, seeing that flower vase right there." Draco nodded his blonde head towards an ugly patterned vase holding some fresh flowers.

Andromeda snickered and was about to turn around when the portrait of Mrs. Black riled up again.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT! NO! THERE WILL BE NO DEFILING OF THIS FAMILY HOUSE EVER! ENOUGH OF THIS MOCKERY! MY FOOLISH SON DESERVED WHAT HE GOT FROM THE FAITHFUL FAMILY!"

Draco quirked an eyebrow. "Uh oh."

Andromeda glanced at him and snickered. "Last straw, ay?"

He grinned back at her and shook his head. "You have no idea."

Up until this point everyone had been quietly regarding the discussion between Andromeda and Draco, but now all eyes were on Narcissa Malfoy. Blonde hair was piled up on her head with wisps hanging out. Robes of black silk flared around her and her face was alive with passion. Her blue eyes were like dancing fire.

"Mockery? I'll show you mockery you overgrown bloody bint." Narcissa turned towards the wall with the painting and growled. Andromeda giggled and Draco turned to her and looked at her a bit strangely.

"You are enjoying this too much, Aunt."

"You are enjoying this too little, Nephew."

"You are not ALLOWED to utter his name. Bellatrix will get was she deserves. I will see to that. And if you speak yet another WORD about Sirius being unfaithful or ANY other such RUBBISH, I will take a muggle crowbar to the sides of you and rip you from your walls! I will do anything just to make you SHUT. UP!"

The whole time Narcissa had been talking, she was silently walking towards the portrait and the last two words of her speech were punctuated by her slamming her right hand on the top right hand corner of the canvas and ripping down with her nails. Mrs. Black let out a truly terrible scream and the picture seemed to crumble into dust. The four old panel boards holding the crumbling oiled-painted paper collapsed inward. Narcissa spun around in a flurry of robes that would have made Snape jealous and glared at Dumbledore.

"Where is the ruddy little bitch."

It wasn't a question. Oh no. It was a demand. A demand to lead her to the elder sister.

Andromeda looked at her daughter.

"Did I mention Cissa usually carries out her threats?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

They were lead upstairs to the hallway Harry recognized as the floor He and Ron had stayed on. It was still a little dusty but he wasn't paying attention to that. Harry slowed his step. Arthur Weasley approached Dumbledore with a slightly worried look. He didn't understand what the look was for until he saw Mr. Weasley glance at the two Black sisters.

He almost snorted. He didn't blame him for being nervous one bit.

He leaned forward to catch a bit of the conversation going on between the two older men.

"...had to sedate her again. Keeping her here is not wise, Albus."

Harry swore he saw Dumbledore glance in his direction and then the direction of Andromeda and Narcissa before returning his twinkling gaze back to the elder Weasley.

"Actually, Arthur, I think it's just what she needs." He stepped away from the man and bowed to him slightly. He then turned towards the two sisters hunched together staring at the door they knew hid their sister. "I'm afraid your sister may be a bit...irrational at the moment, my dear girls. It seems she has had to be stunned...repeatedly."

Andromeda snorted and crossed her arms.

"You haven't seen anything yet. Is she under the body bind? Let her up. Is she harmless? Give her a wand. Then shut her in a room with Narci. She'll be a bit more than irrational. She'll be a bit more than dead, too."

Narcissa spun around and glared at her sister.

"Oh shut up. I go at her ONCE and you make a bloody riot out of it."

"No sister dearest, YOU made it the riot." Andromeda then cocked her head and looked to the group of teens huddled near a wall. "Why do you think we never picked on her? Baby of the group or no, Cissa is hellfire."

Narcissa glared and crossed her arms, mimicking her sister. Harry took a moment to observe them. Suddenly, you could just tell they were sisters. The only main difference was the hair. One was bright as the moon, the other as dark as the night.

"I'm about to be hellfire on you if you don't shut up." Narcissa turned around so quickly many people jumped. Draco rolled his eyes when he saw this and Ron glared at him. Narcissa stalked towards the door at the end of the hall and nodded to the doorman. When the offending piece of wood slid open, everyone looked in.

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, because Bellatrix Lestrange was really strapped to a chair in the room, glaring at them.

"Let her up."

Every one swung their eyes from the body in the room to the one taking up the door. Narcissa was panting in fury and her fists were clenched. Dumbledore looked to her and shook his head gently.

"Now Narcissa..."

"I'm not the baby, Albus, nor will I ever be. You try living with Lucius Malfoy and not grow a backbone. Try being a Black. If you're worried for my safety...don't. Just give me a moment with my eldest sister."

Harry knew that everything he had heard about Dumbledore being off his rocker was true the moment he signaled for Lestrange to be released. But then he had to trust his judgement, didn't he?

He was very aware of the hiss that came from Bellatrix's mouth when the hex holding her to the wooden chair was lifted and she slowly got up. He was also aware that the door behind them was suddenly shut. He became extremely nervous and started looking for other escape routes. He came to find that this was an inside room with no windows...only the chair and a table behind it.

"So, the little sister has come to whine about the lost cousin. How utterly predictable. From the moment you--"

Bellatrix's words were cut off when Narcissa stalked forward and caught her pale throat in her hand and slammed her backwards onto the rickety table.

"You killed him, Bella. You killed blood. How you can live with that, I shall never know. But I do know this. I shall have him back and you will be gone. I hope you suffer."

"Let her up, Narcissa." Dumbledore's stern voice whipped through the air and Narcissa back away while Bellatrix rubbed her throat where there would most definitely be bruises.

"'She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such a word--tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time;'" Narcissa started speaking softly.

Harry vaguely recognized the words but wasn't really paying attention to terms but more to the expressions on Bellatrix's face. Andromeda had also stepped up to Narcissa and laid a hand gently onto her arm, glaring stonily at her older sister.

Ron turned and looked to Hermione with a puzzled look on his face.

"I don't understand. What is she saying?"

Before the brown haired witch could reply, Draco Malfoy walked up the group of three and kept his eyes trained on his mother.

"Shakespeare. MacBeth. Apparently, this was one of Sirius' favorite plays. Mother's told me many stories of when they were allowed to go the London Opera to see the plays and the first one was MacBeth. That's when Sirius fell in love with the muggle arts. They saw MacBeth. Mother's quoting it. Rather fitting, too. Three evil witches." Draco smirked.

If Harry wasn't so shocked by the scene taking place between said witches, he would have rolled his eyes. He knew he recognized the lines. He also would have been shocked by the not-so-evident animosity between himself and the blonde Slytherin.

"'And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard of no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.'" Andromeda finished with a smirk. "Damn, I say, damn. Theatrics was all you and Sirius, Narci. I'm glad you made me memorize that little blip. Wouldn't have been so dramatic otherwise."

Narcissa rolled her eyes and turned away with Andromeda and started to walk off. Draco tensed and started forward when Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and reeled back her right fist.

But there was no need.

It was expected. Narcissa whipped around and made her own fist with her left hand. She brought it down in the crook of Bellatrix's elbow--bending it. She then grabbed the fist flying towards her forcing it back towards Bellatrix's own face, making her punch her own self. Blood spurted out of her nose and she fell to her knees.

Andromeda snickered and turned to Dumbledore. "I told you to let her at Bella. While little Bellie over here was practicing her dark curses Sirius was teaching Narci self-defense."

The shocked group was lead out of the room and back downstairs listening to Andromeda tell stories of Sirius and Narcissa. When they had reached the kitchen, Narcissa went over to a patch on the wall that was bare and sent an amused glance to the animatedly talking Andromeda.

"I hate to interrupt, but do you think he's changed it after all these years, Andi?" Narcissa asked, grinning. After seeing Bellatrix, she seemed to be in a better mood.

Andromeda snorted and crossed her arms.

"Hell, no. He was in idiot in his sense. Get us some bubbly out, sister dearest. I'm in need of some pick-me-up."

It seems everyone looked at each other curiously until Narcissa grinned at her sister again and turned the wall.

"Gryffindor pride."

A click was heard and suddenly the spot wasn't so bare. A hidden cabinet was revealed, bringing along with it bottles of wine and fire-whiskey. Narcissa retrieved two wine glasses and a dusty bottle.

"You're right. No sense at all." Narcissa shook her head and poured a glass of wine for herself and her sister. They toasted themselves and took a sip.

"May I have a glass mother?" Draco asked slyly. Ron gaped at him when Narcissa looked at his calculatingly.

"No darling; we're not at the manor." She took another sip and turned around. Draco visibly deflated and persisted.

"Mother, please...just a glass. It's not like it won't get me tipsy or anything."

"No." Narcissa didn't even turn around.

"Please?" He asked again.

"No."

"Mother, come on."

"I said no Draco."

Andromeda chuckled and went by to ruffle Draco's hair. "She said no, darling. Best get used to it here."

"I don't see why I can't have any. I'm not going to get drunk or anything. Firewhiskey doesn't even get me overloaded."

Draco knew he had said to much when his mother suddenly spun around.

"Firewhiskey? Since when have you tasted firewhiskey? Wine? Yes, but only sips at parties. Firewhiskey is off-limits completely until you are of age." Narcissa slammed her glass down and glared at her only son who cringed.

"Mother, please. It was just to test my tolerance level. Just a little game."

Narcissa gaped at him.

"A game." She stated. "A game. There is only one person I could think who would..." Her words died off when she spotted a missing bottle in the rack of alcohol jugs in the cabinet. She turned her head up to the ceiling and growled. "Sirius, if you ever come back, I will tan your hide and then kill you all over again! And THEN I'll resurrect you again just to beat you back up!"

"Beat you back up?" Ron asked skeptically. She was looking at Narcissa, who was a bit tiny compared to Sirius.

"Oh yes, my dear. Narcissa's love life is quite the story." Andromeda grinned, wine glass in hand. Narcissa pinched the bridge of her nose and Draco rolled his eyes.

You see, Narcissa was forced into the engagement by our bastard father. She was so down about it. Poor thing. So, let's set the stage for the wedding. It's going to be at night. That afternoon, Sirius raids his stash of firewhiskey and Narci, Siri and I go up and get drunk four hours before the ceremony. Narcissa was drunk through the whole wedding."

"Which explains why I went through with the damn thing. I meant to walk down the aisle the other way." Narcissa grumbled before taking a drink of the wine.

"Well naturally," Andromeda continues, "She's still drunk that night and I KNOW you all know what happens on wedding night. Behold...our little demon of a boy Draco." Andromeda grinned and ruffled Draco's hair while he shouted and ducked. She went on. "Needless to say when Cissa found out about the whole night she was so incensed...well...Draco's an only child for a reason." Andromeda wiggled her eyebrows at Draco who groaned.

Ron looked confused and looked at Harry. "What?"

Andromeda sauntered over to him and widened her eyes a bit. "Let's just say she took off her shoes and did damage."