Hi, I'm Official Space Teen and this is the first chapter of an Andromeda and Ted fic I've been working on for a while. Ted well come into the story next chapter.
Uptown Girl
Chapter 1- Trapped
I remember sitting by the lake, the one that lay several miles outside my home. A beautiful site it was; a vast landscape of blue, surrounded by tall, evergreen trees, their leaves rustling in the cool autumn breeze. In many ways, as I as I sat there, I should have felt free, but instead I felt trapped.
"Are you okay, Andromeda?" Melantha asked, although it was unlikely she cared about my answer. She had been my best friend since we were both little and yet, I had hated her since we were both little.
"I'm fine. Just... nervous, about Hogwarts." I lied.
"There's nothing to be nervous about!" She scoffed. "You'll be in Slytherin for sure."'
I nodded. But that wasn't at all what I was worried about at all. In fact, it was the complete opposite of what was bothering me. The problem was that I didn't want to be in Slytherin, I wanted to be in any house apart from Slytherin.
"All of your family has been in Slytherin." She continued. "It's definite you'll be in it too. We'll both be in it."
Melantha squeezed my hand and I forced a reassured smile, but her words just made the knot in my stomach grow larger. It was true; everyone in my family had been in Slytherin. It was almost imposable for me not to be in it as well.
"I think you'llbe in Slytherin." I said truthfully.
Melantha's heart was as black as her ebony hair, her goodness as pale as her paper white skin. She came from one of the oldest pure-blood families; evil ran through her vains. I also came from an old pure-blood family, but I had always been different from my ruthless kin. I had always been estranged from them, I had never belonged. My parents tried to pretend like they didn't notice, my sisters tried to act like I was just like them.
"Look," Melantha gestured, "the sunset."
I faced the pale blue sky as it turned a glowing yellow. An array of golden colors presented themselves before me. The beauty of it took my breath away every time. On that particular day I remember seeing a small bird fly across the sunset. It was black agents the colors in the sky and stood out as it glided through the air. Free. That was all I thought as the creature fluttered around. I wish I was free.
"Come on, Andromeda." Melantha interrupted as the happy colors faded into a mournful back. "We must hurry home. Your mother will be waiting for us."
We walked together through the woods, the only light to guide our way was that of the almost fallen sun. Melantha talked and I listened. She quarrelled on about starting Hogwarts tomorrow, about how excited she was. I just keep me head down as I took in her words. I never really spoke much as a child, probably because Melantha did all the talking. When we made it to my house, mother was there to greet us.
"Where have you been?" She asked in a familiar, harsh tone.
"The lake, Mrs. Black." Melantha responded in a sweet voice.
"And what took you so long?"
"Well," Melantha pleaded, "we figured that as we are going to Hogwarts tomorrow, we might as well enjoy our last few hours in nature."
Mother stood solemnly at the grand entrance to the manor, blocking the door way as though we were a pair of thieves trying to break in. Her coal black eyes narrowed and she scratched her pointed chin with a bony finger.
"Not again." Mother declared in a strict tone. "Or you'll both be sleeping in the forest."
We nodded and followed her inside.
My childhood home was as unpleasant as its residents. On the outside it looked like a stone castle, large and gray. It stood alone in the clearing of thick forest that belonged to my grandfather, every square mile of it. The inside of the mansion was decorated in fine, vintage pieces and expensive heirlooms that had been in my family for centuries. I hated that wretched place.
"Oh, you're back." My sister, Bellatrix, hissed from an armchair in the living area. "I was hoping you both been eaten by the wolves."
She wasn't joking. Bellatrix never joked.
"And miss going to Hogwarts with you?" I spat. "Never."
Of all the evil people in my family, Bellatrix was the most horrid. Unfortunately, we looked so alike that many mistook us as the same person. We shared had dark brown and curly hair, the same pale skin and thin, slender figure. The only appearance similarity we did not share was our eyes. Hers were black and cold. Mine were almond colored and soft. What we shared in looks, however, we differed in personality. She had a heart of stone. I did not.
"I know I've told you this a million times, dead-beat." She warned. "But if you so much as look at me while at Hogwarts, I'll kill you. I have a reputation to uphold and I'm not going let you screw it up." She gave me disgusted look before continuing to read the latest edition of 'Teen Witch Weekly'.
"Come on, Andromeda." Melantha ordered. "Lets go."
I shot Bellatrix a dirty look before following Melantha up the spiral staircase to my room. She knew the house as well as I did because she stayed over so often. That night she was sleeping over.
"I admire your sister, to be honest." She said whilst climbing the stairs. "From what my brother has told me, she's the most popular girls at Hogwarts."
I sighed. I knew Bellatrix was popular, she reminded me of it constantly. She was only just starting her third year a yet she was feared by most students and idealized by most Slytherins.
"Well, I don't want anything to do with her once school starts." I sighed. "She hates me and the feeling is mutual."
"I think she's cool."
I just rolled my eyes at this. If Melantha was my best friend and even she- like everyone else- preferred my sister, then maybe she should hang around with her instead.