TOUJOURS PUR
Andromeda hated her family.
The most Noble and Ancient house of Black was one of the only Pureblood wizarding families left, and according to her mother and aunts, this made them royalty.
As she inspected herself in the enormous golden-framed mirror, Andromeda Black did not see a girl who could uphold the traditions of her family. Instead, she saw a thin, pigeon toed girl with knobbly knees and plain features. She had always been overlooked, living in the shadow of her insufferable elder sister Bellatrix, whose striking features and Black family scruples made her doted on by their parents, and her younger sister Narcissa, who, with her flowing blonde locks, bright blue eyes and perfect figure gave her, at eight, many "respectable" (meaning Pureblood) suitors, most of whom were more than three times her age.
At the age of eleven, Andromeda already knew the strict rules of being a Black: You must only associate with other Purebloods. You must make a respectable Pureblood marriage and rear many Pureblooded children to keep the line pure. You must raise your children by these rules. If you wish to pledge allegiance to the Dark Lord, keep it quiet, but by all means, go ahead. Andromeda had, of course, heard of He Who Must Not Be Named, mostly from her insane aunt Wally, the matriarch of the family, and he did not seem an altogether pleasant sort of person. She had been raised to approve of Muggle-torture and killings, but it simply wasn't something she could accept.
Andromeda scowled at her reflection, smoothing her itchy red velvet dress over her skinny legs for what seemed like the millionth time that evening. She knew she was in for a scolding when she finally arrived downstairs, her dress already had many rips and a tear through it, and to the Blacks, reputation was everything. Andromeda dreaded going downstairs and facing the various "family friends" and others downstairs, gathered in her parents' house for the annual Black dinner party. As she turned sideways and inspected her profile, she heard her mother's shrill voice from downstairs. "ANDROMEDA BLACK!" she called, "GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"
Andromeda sighed, pushed her misbehaving hair behind her ears and clomping down the hallway, gaining disapproving glares from the various portraits of her ancestors along the walls, and ran downstairs to, yet again, be reminded that she was a failure.
Bellatrix was, as usual, the center of attention. She loved these little gatherings, for they gave her more opportunity to show off and be the favored one.
She was currently pouring a glass of mead for her aunt Wally while engaged in a conversation on the pros and cons of the current Hogwarts headmaster, Dumbledore.
"Well, I personally think he's a Muggle-loving old twit," her aunt was saying, taking another gulp of mead, "Blood-traitors are as bad as Mudbloods in my book. "
"I quite agree," her uncle Orion commented. "Letting in mudbloods and scum, educating them on our finest wizarding traditions, it's simply preposterous. I've always said old Phineas was the only sensible headmaster Hogwarts has ever had."
Bellatrix felt herself nod. "Yes, that ridiculous McGonnagal woman keeps partnering me with Nellie McCain, she's so proud of her filthy Muggle parents. The old bat gave me detentions for a week and I only cursed her a bit," she said offhandedly.
The curse hadn't really been that minor, Bellatrix thought with a grin. The unfortunate Mudblood was in the hospital wing for nearly a week before the matron fixed her up. Bellatrix loved the sense of fear this small act induced in her fellow students; she didn't much care about the disapproval and resentment of most of the student population, none of them were important. The pureblood Slytherins admired her, her family approved, and that was all that mattered.
She had her own group of friends, or "followers," as most called them. They were all Purebloods, and all planned to join the Dark Lord when they left Hogwarts, alike to Bellatrix. The Carrows, Macnair, Mulciber, Barty Crouch, the Lestranges, Gibbon, Malfoy.
Bellatrix took a small sip of her own mead and struggled to keep a straight face as the bitter and, quite frankly, disgusting liquid burned her mouth.
Her aunt grinned maniacally and cackled. "Such a good girl," she said proudly to whoever was listening, which was everyone. "Upholding the family traditions!"
"Evidently the Mudblood had it coming, prattling on like that," her aunt Lucretia remarked.
Bellatrix smiled indulgently and took another drink of the mead, forgetting its unpleasant flavor. It was then that her younger sister Andromeda came tearing down the stairs, her dress ripped in the back, hair looking like it hadn't been brushed in weeks. Bellatrix frowned disapprovingly, why couldn't her sister stay out of trouble for once?
"Pathetic," Bellatrix hissed under her breath.
Narcissa Black had been standing at the top of the staircase for the last ten minutes.
As she approached the sitting room, where various members of her family and pureblood family friends were seated, some were conversing, others enjoying the delicious food and others simply admiring the beautiful décor. She noticed her father deep in conversation with Desiree and Thaddeus Crabbe, her sister Bellatrix sitting with aunt Wally and uncle Orion, and her other sister Andromeda standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"Dromeda? You all right?" Narcissa asked quietly, standing next to her sister. Andromeda started, spinning towards Narcissa, then relaxing and smiling, seeing who it was.
"I suppose," said Andromeda quietly, as she nervously fiddled with the hem of her dress. "You look nice."
Two of her male cousins seemed to think so as well, she thought; why else would they give her that look as they passed? One of them almost walked into the bust of her great-great-grandmother.
"Thanks- Dromeda, why are they staring at me like that?" Narcissa questioned, frowning slightly.
Andromeda looked slightly uncomfortable; she gave the cousins in question looks of disdain and yanked on Narcissa's arm, walking towards where their sister Bellatrix was seated. "Um…I don't know, Cissy…. How bout we go talk to Bella, yeah?"
Narcissa was confused, why wasn't Dromeda giving her a straight answer? It wasn't like she wasn't used to these kinds of looks, they plagued her wherever she went. Was she that ugly? Narcissa's secret theory was that she was actually hideously deformed, but her family didn't want her to know, so they charmed all her mirrors to hide it.
"Ah, Cissy, Andromeda," her sister's rough voice broke Narcissa out of her private thoughts. "How nice of you to join us."
Bellatrix was perched on the edge of an ancient purple loveseat that Narcissa knew to be extremely uncomfortable. Their aunt Wally, uncle Orion, and various others were seated around the small room, charmed to appear larger and more ornate than it really was.
"Narcissa!" Uncle Ralphus growled, giving her that look again. "My, my, how you've grown." He winked at her.
She heard Dromeda make a defensive noise in her throat and saw her open her mouth to retort, but Bella elbowed her in the rib.
Here we go again, thought Narcissa.
A/N: So, this was the first part of what will hopefully be 3 or 4, each in different yet significant stages of the sisters' lives. PLEASE REVIEW! I love you all…. Thanks to my betas qtktkat and Brodigan.