Disclaimer: I don't own any of this, nor am I making any money from it. Just having some fun :)
Feedback is totally welcome. This is the first time I've actually posted a fic. At least 1 more chapter to come soon!
Return to Black Manor
Chapter 1
Andromeda peered up at Black Manor, the house of her parents. It had been decades since she had seen this place anywhere but in her haunted dreams. Ivy clung to the great dark walls of the once proud mansion, and the shattered windows whispered neglect. The summer sun shone brightly through the mangled trees lining the pathway she walked, but the warmth of its light seemed not to reach the house itself, which stood solemnly overlooking the overgrown yard as if displeased with the lack of maintenance since the quiet deaths of Cygnus and Druella Black. The great statue of Phineas Nigellus Black, Andromeda's great-great-grandfather and the former Headmaster of Hogwarts stood crumbling, glaring at her as she approached the black door.
After a deep breath and a tap of her wand, the door swung open soundlessly. Her footsteps echoed softly as she entered the place she so long ago called home. A thick layer of dust coated the wooden floor, and the smell of must and decay momentarily overpowered her. The door clicked shut behind her, plunging her into the darkness.
"Lumos," Andromeda breathed. A soft light bathed the area around her, revealing the handsome furniture of the room. She shook herself mentally. This was no time for sentimentality, particularly for a family and home she could no longer call her own. Steeling herself against the memories that lurked in the shadows, she made for the stairway. The bottom stair creaked as she started her ascent.
She passed the second floor without a glance and kept climbing. The landing on the third floor seemed dustier than the first two, and it was here that she started down the hall. The door to the first room was shut tightly, as it had been for most of her life. This was Bellatrix's room, and it was notoriously off-limits to all but those invited in, unless of course you wanted a quick curse to the face.
She slowly approached the second room, lifting the curse on the door that she knew would be there. The dust was thickest in this, Andromeda's childhood bedroom. It seemed that many of her possessions still remained since her hasty departure, though what hadn't been shattered to pieces (most likely by Bellatrix's rage, Andromeda mused) lay strewn on the floor or else thrown in piles.
She began shifting what she could in one corner of the room, searching. It was a strange feeling, picking through her old belongings, remembering them vaguely as if they had belonged to her in another lifetime. Movement caught her eye.
It was an old picture, taken when Andromeda must have been about nine years old. Three girls stood laughing and teasing each other. The tallest of the three, with black hair and eyes was Bellatrix. She was wearing her Hogwarts uniform and standing beside a trunk, looking haughty; proud to be embarking on her first trip to the school. With an arm around her was a younger Andromeda, with brown hair and eyes, but a similar face to her older sister. The present-day Andromeda felt a knot clench in her stomach, which she carefully ignored. Giggling next them was the smallest girl with sleek blond hair and light eyes. Narcissa. Andromeda made to put the photo in her robes, but thought better of it and propped it on the bookcase and went back to her search.
Then she found it. A small wooden box lay buried in the rubble. She peered inside, and being reassured that she found what she was looking for, placed it deep in her pocket.
Something creaked at the bottom of the stairs.
Andromeda slowly stood up, her hand automatically closing on her wand and backing in to the shadowed far corner of the room. She strained her ears to listen for another sound, but could only hear the thumping of her heart in her chest. There. The soft sound of boots on the dusty floor. She raised her wand in preparation.