Declaimer: I'm using JK's property for non profit purposes
I tried to be as true to the canon as possible, I will admit to tweakng certain things. This story has been written in my head for years, before Deathly Hollows and many of JK's online comments about the story, certain aspects (such as the order of the Black sister's births) do differ from currently know facts..
Enjoy. Review.
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Andromeda sat with a sterling silver spoon resting in her right hand. Her head was throbbing, slowly increasing in intensity. Her father's voice was getting louder, which initially appeared impossible, even his conversational tone seemed to radiate off the Black dinning room walls. But now he had had several drinks. Alcohol was guaranteed to make his already shorten temper nearly nonexistent. His veins were bursting, both in his thick muscular arms and on the side of his rather long neck.
She closed her eyes, imagining herself safe within the walls of Hogwarts, where no one dared to raise their voice in her direction. At school she was respected; strutting the halls in a haughty manner with a her signature smirk creating an unbreakable air of confidence. There's a very fine line between fear and respect, Andromeda toed that line very carefully while at hogwarts.
Now however, she was defenseless. No matter how tightly she held her heavy lidded eyes together she could not wish away her surroundings. Her fathers piercing cries; "Muddbloods!", "Filth!", "Vermin" they nestled into her core. The way he spat the words out, the disgust that she knew was written across his face, even without looking, it made her stomach turn. She heard a low whimper causing her heart to sink. Beside her were her two little sisters. Bellatrix three years younger but nearly identical to the eldest Black, however she was less hard; her smile was wider, her eyes more alive. Bellatrix though, was experienced enough to know better than allow a whimper to escape during one of their fathers tirades. The noise had come from the most youthful Black, Narcissa. She did not at all resemble the family "norm". Her hair was compiled of flowing golden strands that would bounce from side to side as she walked. Her eyes were a cool blue that mirrored the morning sea. She was precious in the eyes of her sisters, perhaps because she embodied a certain innocence. The two elder Black sisters always worked hard to protect their Precious, for she often made mistakes like disrupting their father's rant.
"What?!" He bellowed loud enough to nearly make the cups on the dinner table rattle. "You have pity for these muddbloods! Is that what that muggle loving school is teaching you?" Even sitting two seats away Narcissa could still smell the stale liquor on his breath as he leaned in close to his frighten daughter's face. She looked into his jeering eyes and lost all self control her sisters have been trying to teach her, breaking down into sobs.
This act set Cygnus Black over the edge. He rose to his feet in a haste, knocking over dishes and silverware with complete disregard. Beneath him, a small house elf scurried around attempting to collect the family heirlooms his master was now destroying but will probably be seeking tomorrow when he is more sobered.
"Stop it you're scaring her." Andromeda spoke the words defyingly, with compete repulsion towards the man that calls himself their father. She turned toward her sister, shooting Narcissa a comforting smile, ignoring the shocked look on Cygnus' face. "How dare you..." Cygnus was now shaking with rage. Clearly Andromeda had hit a nerve, but it had been no accident everything the eldest Black did was with extreme calculation and planning. Cygnus swung his heavy arm across the table, destroying everything he made physical contact with. The females at the table lifted their arms to shield their faces against the shards of glass that were being thrust through the air. This included their mother, Druella Black. She was a prime example of a corpse that had simply forgotten to fall in its casket. Andromeda saw her as a disgrace of a women; her eyes completely vacant, never even a ghost of a smile present on her lips. She was always physically there, but her mind seemed light years way. The sisters had learned at a very young age that they could only count on their mother to set the table and nod along with their father.
Cygnus's anger was now purely addressed toward his eldest daughter; he rushed forward, thrusting aside the dinning room table and nearly knocking his wife out of her seat. His rather large, thick fingers gripped the strands of Andromeda's hair, causing her to wince in displeasure.
"Are you disrespecting me?" His mouth was now merely inches from her face, the smell of his breath intolerable causing her dark eyes to water. She firmly closed her eyes and tried to regain herself, not wanting him to think he was actually getting to her. It had been years since she last cried in front of him, it was that unmovable Black pride that lived inside her chest. He swung his arm downward toward the table, fist still full of her hair. She made contact with the rich, mahogany wood as an instant burst of pain filled her right temple completely eclipsing the headache that had been previously building. She gripped the wound as Cygnus released his hold, allowing her to slip onto the hardwood floor. Through one squinted eye she could make out the outlines of Bellatrix's legs leading Narcissa upstairs. The youngest Black still hadn't learned, she cried out for her older sister, begging her father to stop.
"Shut up! Shut up right now or you're getting it next! I swear." While screaming Cygnus allowed one of his massive boots to come crashing down onto Andromeda's torso causing her to release a loud grunt. She could tell his attention was shifting towards her younger counterparts so she took a giant breath and preceded to lift herself up from the ground, careful not to slip on the blood that flowed freely from the open wound on her right temple. There was nothing her father hated more than when she attempted to stand after having been knocked down, perhaps it was his famous Black pride.
His foot fell again, this time on her back causing her face to crash into the floor. She could taste the blood that was pouring from her nose as she took shallow breaths. To her left her mother sat, still in her seat as if nothing had happened, avoiding her daughter's gaze. She saw the house elf, Dobby, he was moving sly under the table, towards her sisters, no doubt to help Bellatrix lead Narcissa away.
Just a little longer she thought to herself. The summer was almost over and for the first time all three sisters were going to Hogwarts, they wouldn't have to deal with this crap again until winter break. They could leave only Druella to withstand their father's drunken rampages, surely she deserved them.
His foot fell once more, this time however she was already on the ground so the impact was less but she still felt his weight on her bones. Perhaps something was broken... she couldn't tell. She could now longer see either of her sisters' legs, they had reached the safety of the second floor. Bellatrix probably had her arms firmly around Narcissa, the way one would hold a small child, stroking her sun kissed hair.
Her father was screaming still. Something about "respect" and "Pureblood" and "head of the house", but most the sentences were incoherent escaping as nothing more than drunken slurs. She doubted even he knew what he was saying, it was just the same trite speech. Occasionally he would swing his fist down or kick the tip of boot into her side. She took every hit, her arms protecting her face.
Eventually he wore himself out, bending over with his hands on his knee to catch his breath. Druella took her cue, lifting her wand to begin to fix the mess her drunken husband had made.
"Dobby! Dobby! Get that ass of yours down here. Now you filthy little...." Cygnus cried in between gasping for breath, until the small elf made his way down the stairs. The elf walked cautiously towards the disaster scene which was the dinning room table, snapping his fingers to make the left over foods disappear. He glanced at Andromeda, still sprawled across the floor, wanting desperately to come to her aid. She laid lifeless, waiting. Her father stood to full height, one hand rubbing his back, complaining he was sore. The irony nearly made Andromeda choke on the blood that had remained in her mouth.
Cygnus walked away not paying any particular attention to his fallen daughter, nor his apathetic wife, merely grumbling to himself. Upon hearing him close the door to his study, Andromeda rose with difficulty, nearly every muscle was throbbing, aching uncontrollably. She tried to stand up straight, but simply cold not find her equilibrium and nearly fall back into the floor. Dobby rushed to her side, his two petite brown hands on her knee to keep his mistress upright. Druella glanced at the two then quickly at the door to Cygnus' study clearly terrified that he would come racing back out due to this 'unacceptable momment'. Of course Druella's fear was not for her child's safety.
Andromeda ignored her mother and upon finding her balance patted the head of her heroic house elf before finding her way upstairs. She barely conquered the first two steps when Narcissa came racing down the stairs, tears still openly flowing from her icy blue eyes. She through her arms around her older sister causing Narcissa to fall back into a wall and wince in pain, noticed only by Bellatrix.
"I'm so sorry. That was my fault, that was all my fault." Narcissa sobbed into the arch of Andromeda's neck, her usual mellifluous voice noticeably not present. Andromeda wrapped her left, less damaged, arm around her sister's waist, and propelled the two forward, up the stairs and the first left, into Narcissa's bedroom.
The room was still that of a little girl; pink bedsheets, pillowcases, and curtains. There were flowers on her walls and stars on the ceiling. Her bed was littered with stuffed animals that included various teddy bears and one lovely unicorn. Andromeda sat Narcissa on the edge of the bed and sank to her knees so she could easily wipe away the tears running down her sisters face.
"Hey, Cissy, look at me." Andromeda's voice was serious, not the usual friendly tone she often used with the youngest Black. "It's not you're fault he's a monster. It's not your fault." It was something Andromeda frequently repeated, to both her sisters. She had went through this phase, when she blamed herself for each of her father's outbreaks, for her mother's apathy. She wanted to ensure neither of her sisters made the same mistake.
"I hate it when he yells, I hate it so much. I can't control myself like you and Belle do, I just get so scared. And you always anger hims so much, then he hits you and I don't know what to do, I just hate it so much" Narcissa whimpered, her blonde hair sticking to her face due to the tears. Her normally perfect composure ruined.
"Hey, we're getting out of here. This year you're getting on that train with us, trust me it's good at Hogwarts. Belle and I, we run that place. You'll see, it's not at all like this. Everything's going to be okay."
There was silence. Andromeda suspected her sister was trying to wrap her head around the idea of a more peaceful life. This house, this horrible hell hole, it was all Narcissa knew. Finally though, she would join her sisters at school. The hardest part of Hogwarts for Andromeda was always leaving her sisters behind.
Andromeda helped Narcissa into bed, finally drying her tears. She tucked in her Precious and kissed her goodnight. Bellatrix was waiting patiently at the door.
"God I'm so sick of that man. I can't wait to just get the fuck out of here." The middle Black sister's words were bitter accompanied by a glint of pure anger that arose in her eyes. Andromeda hated the sight of it.
"Belle, watch your tongue." Andromeda's words were harsher when directed towards Bellatrix, she didn't view the raven haired hot head to be as fragile as the youngest. Still Bellatrix was taken back by her sister's comment. They reached the door to Andromeda's room and stood for a brief second silently in the hallway.
"You did a good job, getting Narcissa out of the way."
"Thanks." Bellatrix's checks flushed, her chest swelled up with pride, but she couldn't even meet her sister's gaze. 'Dromeda had always been like a God to her, this majestic, all capable being. She felt so tiny in her older sister's presence. "And thanks for taking care of us."
"Always." Andromeda responded before retreating to her own room.
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