Challenge: QL Season 2 R1.
Prompts: [Stubborn] and [Don't tell me what to do']
Note: Andromeda graduated Hogwarts in the early 1970's apparently, and I'm going to say that this takes place around 1975 when the Marauders are in their 5th year, so before Sirius leaves home.
Multum valet coniunctio sanguinis:
Blood is Thicker Than Water
i)
Watching her reflection in the mirror, Andromeda Black took a deep breath, looking much more confident than she felt. She had on clothes that her mother would approve of, and her hair was demurely tied in a knot. The night was going to be difficult as it was, and the less things there was to cause conflict over, the better. Anrdomeda fiddled with her engagement ring wishing that Ted could be with her when she broke the news to her Aunt Walburga that she was marrying a Muggleborn.
Walburga had never been her favourite aunt. Bellatrix, of course, adored the older woman. She was everything Bellatrix aspired to be. Strong, independent, powerful, as well as notoriously cruel and dead set in her traditional beliefs. Andromeda had never taken to her, hating whenever she was forced to spend time in her company. It usually resulted in Andromeda putting on a fake smile and nodding her head in false agreement, eyes glazing over as her aunt went on and on and on about how Muggleborns were filth and scum of the earth. Initially Andromeda had tried to argue back, but it never ended well so she'd learned to just tune out.
Taking a deep breath, Andromeda lifted her chin and steeled her nerves and pushed aside all the worry and fear that her aunt evoked as she prepared to floo to Grimmauld Place.
ii)
Walburga had heard the news. Of course she had, Druella had informed her immediately after she herself had been informed. Infuriated was merely one of the words she could use to describe how she felt about the situation. Shame at Andromeda filled her eyes as she watched her niece enter Grimmauld Place. She looked like the perfect pureblood, chin raised proudly, looking poised, elegant and put together. The simple engagement ring shone brightly on her finger, bitterly shattering the illusion. How could she betray them all like this? How could she choose a Mudblood over her pure family? Rage simmered just below the surface of her perfect porcelain mask, waiting to be unleashed.
"Aunty Walburga," Andromeda greeted politely, albeit stiffly. The atmosphere was tense, both of them knew what was coming. Walburga's face was devoid of any warmth as she stared coldly at her niece, feeling the icy fire burn through her veins.
"Do you have any idea what you've done?" Walburga hissed, venom and anger darkly lacing her voice as she spoke. She did not return the greeting. There was no beating around the bush anymore, this problem had to be dealt with. She rounded on her niece, betrayal burning in her dark eyes. "You have brought untold shame to this family by your selfish actions, Andromeda. If you go through with this deceitful act of betrayal, you will have chosen a filthy Mudblood over your family. You will be a blood traitor, and you will get disowned. After all we've done for you, this is how you thank us? End it now, while you still can, or suffer the consequences."
iii)
Walburga's reaction was not unexpected for Andromeda, yet she still winced. Despite the face that she had never been close to her Aunt, she was still family, andher words cut through Andromeda like a sharp knife, aiming straight for the heart. Although it might not seem like it, Andromeda valued her family highly because they were, after all, her blood. Gritting her teeth, Andromeda stubbornly folded her arms across her chest so that her engagement ring was plain as day. She didn't care that flaunting it was probably a bad idea, but Andromeda was still a Black by blood and stubborn pride was something she had in an abundance.
"Don't tell me what to do, Aunt Walburga," Andromeda said stubbornly, feeling her own anger flare up. "It's my life, and if you can't do you job as family and support me and my choices then that's your own problem. You are the one making me choose here, between my freedom and my family, not me. Loving someone should never be something to be ashamed of, and I won't apologise for marrying someone who treats me like an equal, not an inferior. I will not apologise for loving someone who loves me in return for who I am, not because of my wealth or name. I refuse to apologise because an 'inferior'-" Andromeda spat the word with scorn, "- makes me happy. I don't want to leave you, but you aren't giving me a choice."
Andromeda watched as Walburga's face changed, her perfect, emotionless mask began to crack and was overtaken by rage as Andromeda spoke, and she fought hard to hide the stab of hurt she felt. Wasn't the role of aunt to be there for you? To let you the make the mistakes your parents refuse to, but to help you up when you fall? Weren't they supposed to support you and love you unconditionally? Andromeda just didn't understand why this was such a big deal. Why couldn't her family just be happy for her? Why did they have to make her choose? She didn't want to leave her family behind, Merlin knows she loved her sisters and her cousins, but she couldn't live without Ted. She couldn't continue to pretend to support the traditional and inhumane views of her family any longer, and her family had backed her into a corner. It was a choice between living life as a perfect pureblood and freedom. It was a choice between marrying her betrothed, Rabastan, becoming a dutiful trophy wife good for little more than bearing his children, carrying on his family name and supporting a cause that aimed to eradicate people like Ted, and supporting something she believed in, loving whoever she wanted and living the life she chose for the end, it wasn't really a choice at all.
"You are a filthy blood traitor," Walburga screamed fiercely, unleashing the full force of her anger on Andromeda. Her words echoed around the house, reverberating througnout Andromeda's mind. She resisted the urge to flinch. "You dare taint the name of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black in the worst way possible, by marrying one of them. You are not the niece I helped raise anymore, Andromeda. You are no longer deserving of the Black name. Now get the hell out of my house before I curse you."
Squeezing her eyes shut, Andromeda tried to hold back the string of tears she could feel threatening to pour down her face. She had known this was coming, Andromeda wasn't foolish or naive enough to think that her aunt would actually accept her decision, but that didn't make it hurt any less. Knowing that her aunt would make good on her threat, Andromeda Black turned and fled, preparing herself for the cold shoulder she would receive from her siblings when she returned to say her final goodbyes. While she was saddened by the loss of her family, Andromeda felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She was finally free.
iiii)
Freak. Scum. Filfth. Traitor. Andromeda had chosen a Mudblood over her family, the greatest insult possible. Rage consumed Walburga as she watched the girl leave. She had so much potential, and she threw it all away for love. Walburga scoffed, and faced the tapestry in the drawing room. The tree dated back to the middle ages, and Walgurga viewed it with a mixture of pride at her heritage, and shame as raised her wand and prepared to add a sixth burn mark to the tainted tree. Tourjours Pur, she thought as she eradicated all traces of her once beloved niece from the family history forever. Andromeda Black no longer existed, only a gaping hole where she should have been.