Even in the deepest dungeons of the castle; the roaring thunder could be heard as if it were an earthquake and the lightning cast the whole room in piercingly bright light. The room in question was draped with lavish tapestries embossed in green and silver that were billowing in the permanent draft of the room; plush leather armchairs were placed strategically over a floor too dark to see during the intervals of lightning. The room was almost completely empty but the two girls who sat by the fireplace kept their conversation to a whisper. The two girls, sisters in fact, resembled only in facial features as the older of the pair had hair the same brown as hazelnut whereas the younger sister's blonde hair resembled the lightning which continued to invade the ambiance.
"I know you're worried, but if it's the path she wants to take then there's nothing we can do about it" said the younger sister.
"It's not that simple" argued the other, "the path she wants to take is the same path which will lead her right to Azkaban".
"You shouldn't get involved, father is thrilled it the news; he thinks it will make uncle Orion and aunt Walburga respect us more-c
"Oh because they're so respectable and honourable are they?! They've been obsessed with the Dark Arts for years and those two sons of theirs' are destined to go the same way!"
"But father says-"
"I don't care what he says!" she interrupted once again; "you and I both know that if our sister turns out anything like the rest of our retched family she'll become obsessed with him and become one of his followers-"
"Oh I think it's too late for that" came a poisonous voice from the common room entrance, "The Dark Lord already has my loyalty or obsession as you put it; and as soon as I leave this abysmal school I shall be the first ever female De-"
"Do not call yourself one of them!" she middle-sister begged.
"But I like it" she sneered.
At the age of seventeen the oldest sister; named after the third brightest star in the constellation of Orion; was at her most slender and it was in her final school years that her raven-black hair went from silk to tangled mane. She wore the green and silver of Slytherin House proudly; unlike the sister she was addressing who wore it with disgust and the youngest cowering in the corner who usually tried her best to look the part.
"How was your Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, Cissy?" she asked the blonde-haired girl.
"It was f-fine t-thanks" she stuttered, petrified.
"And what was running through your mind throughout the lesson?" she was slowly moving her hand towards the wand tucked below her studded belt (which wasn't part of the standard uniform).
"T-that they d-don't stand a c-chance against the p-power of the D-Dark Arts"
"Good to hear; and you, sis? How was. . . " it was as if she was repulsed to even say the name of the subject, to even spell it out.
"I had Muggle Studies, sis" she imitated sarcastically, "and it was extremely informative and enlightening"
"Do they teach you how to feed them? Teach them tricks? Toilet training?" she burst out into maniacal laughter who drew the attention of the few people remaining in the black leather chairs. With a glare from her eldest sister, Cissy began to laugh nervously but was putting more effort into holding back the tears that her sister was always responsible for causing; at least that's what the hazelnut-haired girl thought.
"I'm going to the library" she said at once.
"It's almost after hours"
"There are much worse rules to break".
She made her way out of the common room and down the torch-lit corridor that was barely lit this far down in the dungeons. The walls were paved with ancient stones that weren't exactly welcoming; but it was understood that the students of her house didn't exactly require a welcoming atmosphere in this school. Before she had remembered where she said she was going and why she found the excuse to leave she had reached ground level and could see through the wide-open doors into the Great Hall. It saddened her to picture the students laughing in pairs and groups of friends on the three tables she never got to sit at, whereas the table on the far left was always solemn; the only 'happy' conversations being those filled with plots to tease the Muggle-borns and excited talks about this Dark Lord. If she wasn't keeping her younger sister in line she usually spend her time in the Great Hall gazing longingly at the students on the other tables, who avoided her simply because of the colour of her tie.
She was suddenly shoved aside by a group of Hufflepuff students who, by their attire, had clearly been at Quidditch practice. The majority of them gave her sinister looks not only of pure hatred, but disapproval; as if she were responsible for being placed in the house that all the others detested so much. Two Hufflepuffs tagged along at the back in ordinary robes; a boy and a girl. The boy had brown hair much fairer than her own and his eyes were a remarkable green; not the menacing green that was emblazoned on her robes but the sort of green that welcomed you a lot more than a stone-paved dungeon.
"Keep away from her, Ted" the girl beside him sneered, "She's a Slytherin, there's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin".
And with that the pair began to follow the Quidditch players once more. But any tears that were about to gush from Andromeda's eyes were suddenly turned to stardust as the boy named Ted turned back and gave her a reassuring smile that made her insides tingle with happiness.
