N/A: Honestly it feels crazy to write again, guys. It's been years since I've written anything. This is going to be a little different (and hopefully better) than my last couple of stories. This is the first chapter to the story of Andromeda Black and Ted Tonks. Boy, do I have lots of stuff planned. Hopefully I can get it all down. I'm starting my senior (or thirteenth) year so there will be times when I don't update. Just warning you. I love you all and every single one of you is so extremely important. Enjoy xx
Chapter One: An Introduction to the Most Noble and Ancient Family of Cygnus and Druella Black
August, 1971
There was a light rain that was falling atop the manor and the vacant street it had stood on for 500 years. It was a cold rain that would make any dementor comfortable and the night was dark enough to hide them out of plain sight. Dimly lit candles could be seen from every window, illuminating a front yard full of black and white roses intertwining with the brick walls of the exterior of the building. It was a beautiful manor, passed down to every elder male heir of the Black family. Cygnus' elder brother, Alphard, was deemed "unfit" to possess the name of Black, and thus banished. So, by a miraculous default that Cygnus Black III is incredibly proud of, the state of the manor is under his name and his name only- thank you very much.
The manor now hosts a small family of five, along with a miraculously large staff of house elves that "should be thankful to serve such an ancient and honorable bloodline!" This family consisted of Cygnus Black himself and his just-as-honorable wife Druella Black. They produced a clean extension to the family tree, but no male heirs. This is the biggest shame that has ever fallen among Cygnus and is quite a large embarrassment to Druella of whom the blame is placed on the most. There are three daughters to be exact: Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa Black. They were born and are continually praised in that order.
The five continuations to the Black family are busy tonight, as is unusual for the normally quiet but nonetheless frightening household. Cygnus has invited his sister's family for dinner as he usually does to discuss extremely sensitive family business. At present, he sits in his luxurious office on the first floor, scribbling away at a letter that shall be sent to Abraxas Malfoy all the while wiping beads of sweat from his mane of dark hair. He was aging, and it was obvious to many who knew him. His umber eyes were fading and an array of bags were beginning to collect underneath them. Crow's feet cracked against his pearly complexion and his ebony curls were now beginning to thin. He is a tall man, yet thin and frail. He sported a thick and well-groomed mustache under his sharp nose that twitched whenever he was nervous. As he placed the Black family seal upon the envelope of the letter, it was twitching furiously. The sweat was collecting on top of his thick eyebrows. No matter how many times he patted away with his handkerchief, his nerves were still on full display. Tonight would unfold whether he liked it or not.
A few hallways of ancient portraits down from the office was the grand kitchen where generations of house elves were working endlessly to their mistresses' orders. Druella Black was unusually loud and unforgiving tonight as her sharp features boasted a very unsatisfied expression to what her elves were producing. She always wore her white hair in a clean bun that she never allowed to let down or produce any stray hairs. Her thin face was in perfect proportion to her body. She resembled her mother to the fullest extent, of which she was very proud of. Her eyes were large and dark, but neither crow's feet nor any sign of weariness adorned them. She works hard on her appearance as it is her duty to. Every woman of the ancient bloodlines must look their best no matter their age; she must be an emblem of pride to her husband and a model to her daughters. This role was what Druella was trained for, and nights such as this one were proof of her hard work. Everything must be perfect and the plate of Cornish Pasties that her house elf just presented her was most definitely not perfect.
If one travels through the hallways, past the office, into the grand ballroom, and up the large staircase that older house elves are busy polishing, one would find the three sisters in their individual rooms, busying themselves as their parents were at that exact moment. The upper west wing of the manor belonged solely to them and their house elves were in charge of keeping the state of it pristine.
Bellatrix boasted the largest room of the three and she was rather obnoxious about it. It adorned a crystal chandelier that her grandmother gifted her when she was born and, as she has gotten older, the eldest Black sister filled her room with even more luxurious heirlooms. She deemed her room the most honorable of the household in its entirety, and her mother agreed.
Bellatrix was undeniably the favorite daughter of the family. She graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the top her class and was the top of the Slytherin House in her year. She was beautiful as well; many suitors begged Cygnus for her hand in marriage and attempted to prove that they were the purest bloodline that could marry her. Cygnus had refused them all. Instead, he was currently in conversation with Maximus Lestrange, who was his best mate in school, about a possible marriage with his son. The boy, Rodolphus, would be much more honorable and is the only suitor Bellatrix hadn't expressed utter disgust for. Their marriage would be perfection so, of course, Druella supported it.
The eldest daughter was, like her mother, currently yelling at the unfortunate five house elves that belonged only to her. In her eyes, they weren't cleaning her room correctly. To distract herself from kicking them to the floor, Bellatrix sat in front of her dresser and began attempting to smooth out the curls she inherited from her father. They were unruly but still beautiful nonetheless. Many of her admirers described it as a waterfall framing her sharp, round face. In fact, Bellatrix inherited most of her features from her father; a sharp nose, full lips, dark, unforgiving eyes, high cheekbones and perfectly crafted eyebrows that highlighted her lengthy eyelashes effortlessly. All she had to do to look presentable for the night was tie her hair back in some sort of fashion and put on one of her grand dresses that showed off her rather impressive physique. The rest will take care of itself, and she knew that. So, with her house elves smoothing out her bedspread, she began with pinning each curl back one by one.
Directly across the hallway was the room of the youngest sister: Narcissa. At the moment, she was letting her house elves work in a calming silence. Narcissa believed they worked best unbothered, but with firm direction. She was busy looking through her closet in a collection of her best dinner dresses.
Narcissa most definitely stood out from the three sisters. She had been bestowed with her mother's white hair, but seemingly did not have anything else from her two parents. She had a smooth face and thin lips, with clear blue eyes that always had an underlying look of fear in them. For what or whom she had a fear of, Narcissa did not know. Perhaps it was due to the fact that she was the least favorite of her sisters and her mother reminded her nearly every day. She had a fear of not amounting to what her mother set out for her, which was to marry and raise a pure family and nothing more. Narcissa knew that she was not as smart or as pretty as her eldest two sisters. No pureblood suitors had begun lining up for her yet which was unusual. In the next couple of weeks, she would be beginning her fifth year at Hogwarts; usually a pureblood woman would have intrigued a few suitors by this point. But she had not, and her parents were beginning to grow pessimistic about the ordeal.
When word had gone around that Druella was going to have a third child, many people reported that she was taking illegal potions and that Cygnus had produced ancient dark magic to ensure that the child would be a male. This type of magic were extremely dangerous both to Druella and her unborn baby, but friends of Cygnus' said that he was rather desperate for an heir, as his sister had not produced any children yet. Once Druella was close to labor, Druella's family could see how much damage the magic had caused. Many thought that she would die along with the child. However, Cygnus didn't show any sign of discomfort with his wife's state and kept forcing potions down her throat until the last second when the child was inching out of her womb. When the two saw that it was a baby girl, the usual pride and happiness in response to a newborn was replaced with sobs and shame. One nurse said that Druella asked her to throw the baby away numerous times. This baby grew into the youngest Black sister and Narcissa is reminded of their continual disappointment every day.
On a night like this, Narcissa is given an opportunity to make her parents proud, which is why she has been deciding over two very similar dresses for the last thirty minutes. She sighs and chooses one that would hopefully produce a nod of approval from her mother and asks one of her house elves for help with her corset.
In between both Bellatrix and Narcissa's room was one that belonged to the middle sister, Andromeda. Andromeda's room was rather plain. One wall was completely dedicated to her books, complete with an old, cushioned rocking chair that she reads in every day. If one was looking for luxurious and expensive ancient bloodline heirlooms, Andromeda's room is not the place to look. She liked her room plain and simple-it was easier to take care of. At the moment, instead of worrying about her hair or picking out a dress for the night, she was sweeping. She had sent her house elves down to help in the kitchen. They had made sure that their mistress didn't need them to clean her room before going to which Andromeda responded with a chuckle- she can manage to clean her own room. And so she did. If Druella Black had seen her own daughter with a broom in her hand and actually using it, the middle daughter's house elves would be beheaded and Andromeda would be yelled at to the point where she would want the same fate. Andromeda knew this perfectly well, but she didn't care.
In her father's eyes, Andromeda was perfect. She is just as beautiful, if not more so at times, than Bellatrix and is equally as smart as her. Andromeda inherited the same charisma and minimalistic attitude of her father and was even taught to play Quidditch by him. None of the other sisters wanted to learn Quidditch- it wasn't a hobby for girls. When Druella Black found her daughter practicing, she raised hell and made sure that no daughter of hers would ever fly a broomstick for such an idiotic reason like Quidditch. Andromeda cried for weeks about it until her father ended up sneaking Quidditch magazines into her room for her to watch pictures and read about it. Andromeda loved her father with all of her heart and attempted to love her mother the same. Her mother just never learned how to return it.
In fact, Druella had been curious of her middle child since she learned to talk and walk. She was different. She made friends with all of the house elves at a young age instead of acting superior to them. She was scared of the locket with snakes on it that her grandmother had gifted to her. She felt that dresses were uncomfortable and never bothered to brush her hair neatly unless for an absolute reason. Andromeda Black was extremely not perfect, which caused her mother just as much discomfort.
"Girls! Be ready in twenty minutes sharp! They will be here any minute now," screeched her mother's voice from the bottom of the stairs.
Andromeda looked up from the dust bunnies she had been sweeping and rushed over to her closet to pick out something that will do. She had no idea why her parents were so nervous for tonight. It was just another family dinner. She would be able to see her little cousins, Regulus and Sirius, who didn't care much about what food was being served or what dress she was wearing. Tonight wasn't as big of a deal as the rest of her family was making it out to be.
Just as she was tightening her dress, Andromeda heard a knock at the door.
"Come in."
Narcissa was standing by the doorway with both of her hands entangled in her hair.
"I've been trying to do that braid thing you always do but it didn't work! And mother said they'll be here any minute!"
Andromeda couldn't help but laugh at the state of her little sister's hair.
"Sit down, Cissy. And breathe a little while you're at it. I'll fix it," she said as she patted the chair by her dresser.
As Narcissa was sitting down, she looked at her sister with disbelief, "Are you not ready yet? Are you really going to where your hair like that?"
Andromeda rolled her eyes, "Are you going to wear your hair like that?"
This kept Narcissa's comments at bay until Andromeda could finish the braid, which ended up looking rather good, she had to admit. She sent her sister off with a smile on her face. By the end of it, Andromeda only had time to tie her hair up in a simple bun. That will have to do, no matter what her mother would say in response.
As Andromeda was walking out of her room, Bellatrix was walking out of her own. Bellatrix looked her up and down and sighed.
"Are you really going to wear that?"
Andromeda shrugged, "I'm not trying to impress our eleven year old cousin, Bella."
Bellatrix went back inside her room and fetched a string of black pearls and tied them around her sister's neck.
"There, now mother will only scream at you for a few hours," Bellatrix said as she started down the hallway to the staircase. Before she got too far she turned around, "Andy, you have to understand that you need to take these things just as seriously as mother does. If she's fretting, we should be fretting too. This means a lot to her for some reason."
Andromeda nodded curtly. Bellatrix turned back around and walked down the stairs.
While walking down the hallway, Andromeda attempted to avoid eye contact with all of her ancestors' portraits, whom she knew was looking at her with disproval. She didn't quite care what she looked like. It was ridiculous for her mother to get so bent out of shape every time she had guests over, even if they were family. Family shouldn't judge you anyway, she thought to herself, that's what family is for.
By the time Andromeda got to the doorway of the master dining room, she found a few straggling house elves finishing off the silverware (ancient and honorable Black family silverware, of course) and adjusting the chairs of the table.
Druella looked at the finishing touches and, to Andromeda, seemed to be looking for some sort of error to yell about. However, everything was perfect, and the slight nod with pursed lips in response meant that the elves were free to start dinner.
Andromeda looked around the room, "Is everyone waiting in the ballroom?"
Druella's eyes snapped to her daughter immediately, as if she hadn't seen or noticed her before. She gave her one long look, scanning for imperfections in her appearance, and sighed. She walked over to Andromeda with a chilling calmness.
When she finally reached her at the doorway, she asked "Do you think this is a joke, darling?"
Andromeda's heart plummeted in her chest. Though she had mentally prepared herself for some chastisement, she did not prepare for something like this.
"I-I don't understand-" she stuttered.
Druella cracked a wide smile at this, soaking in her daughter's fear. "I have been preparing for this dinner for months. Slaving over it, in fact. I have been working on end to represent this family the best way I know how. Yet, by some miraculous misconception you have engrained in your head, you think that this," she gestures towards the plain dress and lop sided bun, "is acceptable?"
"I lost track of time, mum. I'm sorry. I had to get some last minute summer work done and fix Cissy's hair-"
Druella let out a laugh. She seemed to be enjoying this, which Andromeda found even more disturbing.
"Your excuses do not phase me, Andromeda, nor will they ever. Because I am a kind woman, I will forgive this atrocious behavior. However, the next time you have the audacity to come to a grand dinner such as this one in that potato sack, I will have you banished from this-"
Suddenly, Cygnus appeared by the entrance behind Druella, obviously overhearing the threat. He made brief eye contact with his daughter and immediately interrupted his wife.
"Now what is this I hear about banishment?" he asked with a heartfelt smile, strolling over to put a calming hand on his wife's shoulder. "There is no need for that, my dear." With kind eyes he looked at Andromeda and cupped her face, kissing her forehead briefly.
He continued, "You, my angel, look beautiful. I think it's wonderful that a young woman her age need not try hard to display her beauty. It's effortless," and just as Druella was opening her mouth to interrupt, he added "and she gets it all from her mother."
Andromeda breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She didn't know how her father could manage to control Druella like this while still keeping a smile. He ushered her mother out of the room, telling her to appear in the ballroom as the guests will arrive any minute. As he heard her last few footsteps down the hallway, he turned to his daughter and took out his handkerchief. He quickly patted away the new beads of sweat that had formed.
"Andy, you're turning 17 in a little more than two months. Do you realize that?"
"Yes, I know. I'm going to be an adult and need to live on my own-"
"No, not quite. You should know by now how your mother is. You should be responsible enough by now to realize how seriously she takes these things, for whatever reason. You need to respect her more, dear."
Although Andromeda knew her father said these words with complete kindness, they did leave quite a sting. "It's hard to respect someone who looks at you like a mistake every day."
This hit her father with more of an impact than Andromeda planned. His face completely fell, as if his heart had been ripped out by those few words. Andromeda immediately regretted every syllable she had just spoken; her father was her ally and she never wanted to hurt him. But she had, and for some reason a rather large lump was forming in her throat that she couldn't manage to swallow.
A few moments passed between the two, with neither knowing what to say. Cygnus' mouth opened, as if he had thought of something to say, when the door chimes rang. A few new voices could be heard, echoing through the hallways.
Cygnus looked behind him, towards the new guests' voices through the doorway, and turned back around to face his daughter.
"Please, just try and make it through tonight. And know that whatever happens, I do love you Andy. You are one of my greatest accomplishments," he said softly, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.
And with that, he turned around and walked through the doorway and through the hallway hurriedly. Andromeda sighed, tucked more loose strands into whatever was left of her bun, adjusted her dress and followed her father.
Of course, she was the last one to greet her cousins, Aunt and Uncle at the entrance. It seemed that they had apparated, seeing the sickening look on both of her little cousins faces as they adjusted to their new location. As Andromeda became in her family's line of sight, every face turned to her.
Nothing much about her relatives' appearance changed. Her Aunt Walburga still had the Black family nose, sharp and profound, and her dark eyes had not shown any age to them. Neither had her light hair paled or thinned. Her short frame was still as bony as before, and no cracks of age had appeared in her pale skin. Andromeda's Uncle Orion resembled his wife strongly, as they were (and still are) second cousins when they married. It still disgusts Andromeda to think that her father could be planning to marry her off to her eleven year old cousin Sirius to "keep the family pure" just as her Aunt and Uncle were arranged. Looking at her little cousin, she noticed that he had grown a few inches and all of his front teeth had grown in, which Andromeda could see clearly when he smiled at the sight of her. Sirius had yet to figure out how to tame the black dark curls that his father had passed down to him from generations of the Black family. He would be starting Hogwarts this year, and Andromeda doubted he would be able to contain his excitement at the dinner table. His younger brother Regulus resembled his brother in every way, except that he had not started to grow in his teeth. He looked up to his brother most adamantly, copying almost everything Sirius did. They were two years apart, but Andromeda could see that the age difference didn't bother Regulus at all. He thought of Sirius as his best friend, not his older brother. They both ran to hug Andromeda at the same time, to which she bent down to their level in order to see them better.
Sirius started talking first in a quick, excited tone, "Andy! Did you know that I've been practicing my Quidditch all summer long? Dad says I've broken about five toy brooms but he said I should be ready for Madame Hooch any time now! He said I should be the best in my class!"
Andromeda laughed, "I don't doubt that at all, Sirius, you're a natural."
Then Regulus started, "I've been practicing too! Mum won't let me practice after dark like Sirius but I've still been trying!"
Sirius turned to his brother, "Well you do know that I'm two years older than you, Regulus. Don't expect to be as good as me just yet."
"With that big of a head, Sirius, it's a wonder you don't fall off your broom!" Andromeda said as she playfully poked Sirius in the stomach. He and his brother both laughed.
Andromeda loved both of them like her own brothers, and wished they were.
Orion Black walked over swiftly and interrupted the exchange, patting Sirius' head a little too firmly to be playful. Sirius silenced immediately, and Andromeda could see a slight cringe that he tried to cover up.
"Yes, we've been watching his ego burst over the last few months. I suppose it's the best. Both of my sons are honorable pureblood men, and should know how valuable they are before I let them loose into that mudblood play pen they call a school."
Andromeda looked up at her Uncle, trying to hide the resentment in her eyes. She stood up and smiled, unsure of what to say. Walburga joined her husband and put a warm hand on his shoulder.
"We aren't quite sure how you and your sisters have managed it!" she said with a shrill voice.
Andromeda kept her smile, "Managed what exactly?"
Her Aunt let out a deafening laugh, "Well managed the school, of course! I mean learning in the same room as muggleborns! We thought that Albus Dumbledore would at least put them in one classroom and let them learn at a slower pace while our children were in a much more advanced curriculum. It's just not fair to hold everyone back, is it Druella?"
Andromeda's mother put on a saddened expression, "It truly isn't, my dear sister. It is a shame, to see children like ours having to mingle with muggles. I mean, look at my girls. Bella and Andy are both at the top of their class, well above any mudblood I dare say. Does that seem like a coincidence to you? My girls need a more challenging curriculum! They are being held back by the mutts they go to school with."
And with that, her mother and father ushered Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion into the grand dining room, all the while continuing their social commentary.
Bellatrix looked down at her cousins, her nostrils slightly flared, "Have you two stopped eating your boogies? And wetting the bed?" She crouched down to little Regulus, "You do know that if you wet the bed at Hogwarts, that Professor Slughorn won't even hesitate to throw you to the giant squid in the lake. He'll just open the dungeon window and toss you right into its mouth!"
Regulus looked at her, tears welling up in his eyes.
Andromeda interrupted, "That's not true, Regulus, don't worry. Professor Slughorn is a great head of house, I promise. He loves our family."
Regulus attempted to blink away his tears, "Even if I wet the bed by accident?"
"Yes, even if you wet the bed. He's a very understanding man," she said as she smoothed out Regulus' curls.
Bellatrix turned to her sister, "Why do you have to ruin all of the fun, Andy?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't necessarily call making an 8 year-old cry 'fun.'"
Narcissa interrupted, "Come on, Bella, let's go make sure the house elves have finished making the first course."
Bellatrix snorted at Andromeda before turning and walking away towards the kitchens. Sirius, Regulus and Andromeda were left alone in the entrance way.
Sirius looked up at Andromeda just as his two other cousins had walked away, "There's not really a giant squid is there?"
Andromeda looked down at Sirius, "Well, yes, that part is true." She saw the fear that had just erupted from Sirius' eyes, and attempted to correct herself, "But I heard he's very friendly! One of my friends swore that he went swimming in the lake and the giant squid never even bothered him."
She looked at both of them, seeing their newly found apprehension, and continued, "Both of you need to realize that no matter what anyone says, Hogwarts is an amazing place. Don't listen to anyone that tells you differently, do you understand?" They both nodded. "Good, that's good. Nothing Bellatrix says is true anyways. I'd rather you trust the giant squid than her."
They both laughed at this, which made Andromeda relax. The last thing she wanted was for Bellatrix to make her two favorite cousins afraid of Hogwarts.
Regulus' stomach growled loudly, which made Sirius laugh even more. "Sounds like he's got a giant squid in there, Andy!"
"Oh no I would definitely say that sounds more like a family of trolls."
Sirius suddenly stopped laughing, "Wait, they don't have trolls at Hogwarts, do they?"
Andromeda chuckled. "No, you thickhead! There hasn't been a troll at Hogwarts in forever! And I doubt there will be any time soon."
Regulus smiled. "No, there will be a troll coming in this year! And his name is Sirius Black!"
All three of them laughed at this. Andromeda suddenly realized that she could replace both of her sisters with these two boys and be perfectly happy for the rest of her life. She never laughs unless it is in private in response to a joke her father made in a whisper. This is what family is supposed to be, she thought to herself. And with that she took Regulus' outstretched hand and led both of her cousins to the dining room.