Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor the quotes (which come from the book 'My Sister')
MY SISTER
"Having a sister means having one of the most beauitful and unique kind of human relationships. We share with our sisters a special intimacy, a communion heart and mind more powerful than any friendship" My Sister
A sibling may be the sole keeper of one's core identity, the only person with the keys to one's unfettered, more fundamental self. Marian Sandmaier
Andromeda
The silk draped walls on the room glowed, pearly, from the warm light originating from the haughty, cream white candles in the candelabra. The room was simply arranged, yet the furnishings were elaborate, from the hand carved mahogany table to the large bed with Egyptian cotton sheets and the fabulously embroided silken pillow and blanket covers. And from that bed, soft breaths sounded.
Bellatrix Black was vicious in consciousness, fiercely powerful and protective of her sisters. Those who knew her were careful not to anger her, and those who heard of her were definitely afraid of her. Bellatrix loved the power that fear and intimidation gave her, and used it, hardening her willpower and her soul, even at eight years old.
There, wrapped in Egyptian cotton and silken fabrics, Bellatrix slept, her face in its kindest state. She looked so peaceful, her face unknotted from her usual fury.
Suddenly there was a gentle rap on the door. Bellatrix did not hear the sound, and continue to sleep. The door creaked open, and revealed Andromeda, five years old, her mousy brown hair messy and knotted. She wore her black silk pyjamas, another sign of the immeasurable wealth of her family. Her face was pasty white, and she tip-toed over to the sleeping form of her sister.
"Bella?" she whispered, and Bellatrix awoke, a long stick which resembled a wand (but was not a wand), brandished, her knuckles stark white in the darkness. Andromeda stumbled back and squeaked in fright. Bellatrix realised it was her sister, and immediately tucked her 'wand' under her pillow.
"Sorry, Drommie," she soothed. Andromeda rushed back to her sister and tucked herself into the blankets, next to the warmth and safety of the eldest Black sister.
The two lay there on the bed, Andromeda relishing in the closeness of her sister.
A large crackle of thunder caused Andromeda to wrap her little arms around Bellatrix. She hated thunder, it scared her.
Bellatrix wrapped her strong arms around Andromeda, and hummed, stroking Meda's hair. Andromeda quietened, before snuggling and drifting off to sleep in Bellatrix's arms.
Soon both were asleep.
"I love you, Bella," Andromeda muttered sleepily.
In the later years, when Bellatrix became a ruthless killer with no conscience, and a follower of He-who-must-not-be-named, Andromeda would always remember Bellatrix's actions. Before Andromeda married Ted, she was able to bring out the best in her sister. Bellatrix was her sister before she was Lord Voldermort's. Only Andromeda held the key to Bellatrix's unfettered, more fundamental self. Not Voldermort, not Druella, not Cygnus, not even Narcissa sometimes. Only Drommie, little Drommie who found Bella, not Druella, in a thunderstorm, and who put her arms around Bella and opened her soul.
You can't think how I depend on you, and when you're not there the colour goes out of my life... Virginia Woolf
Narcissa
Narcissa stood, teary-eyed, beside Druella and Cygnus, watching her elder sisters board the Hogwarts train. They went every year, and every year, she was left behind, in the big, empty house with her mother and father.
Bella went first, when Cissy was only four. At least there was Drommie, who was nine. Cissy loved and hated being the 'Baby', she loved it because her sisters fawned over her, and she was treated as someone 'special', yet it sucked sometimes because she was always the 'littlest' and therefore many things were restricted to her.
Drommie was always talking to Bella about Hogwarts, and Cissy listened on, imagining with her seven summered ears what it would be like to go. It wasn't fair, and Cissy often cried jealous tears.
Finally, the train left the station with Meda waving at Cissy, and Cissy dissolved into those jealous tears once more.
When they got home, her father went off to his study, while Druella lead Cissy into the living room.
"Darling, I know it is sad that all your sisters are gone, but we'll all continue on as usual. There are still your cousins Sirius and Regulus to play with."
But Narcissa knew it wouldn't be the same. Sirius was a bossy know-it-all who Cissy hated, while Regulus was even more babyish than herself. Cissy would sit outside in the gardens, where Bella and Drommie and herself would play 'Catch the kneazle', and feel lonely, twirling sticks, pretending that they were her wand.
She had never really noticed how important Bella and Drommie were to her life, but after those summers, she realised that whenever they were gone, the colour would go out of her life.
Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long cherished wish. Amy Tan
Bellatrix
Druella had always remarked on how similar her first two daughters were. Bella had loved Andromeda ever since she was born, and the two were inseperable. If Meda's hair was darker, and Bella's eyes were wider (and kinder), the two could have passed as twins.
Bella loved playing with Meda, Meda was always a soothing presence. Whenever she wanted to do something rash, Meda would talk her out of it and therefore save her from getting into trouble with Mother.
Bella loved how they look the same. It made them closer. Bella loved how Meda would smile just like her, but more kindly. Bella loved the innate kindness in her sister, it was as if Bella was to do the hating while Drommie was to do the loving.
Soon, though, two sisters became three, and Bella remembered the day where she and Drommie stood outside the door where their mother had given birth. They wanted to see the newest addition. Bella had wanted a baby brother, while Meda had wanted a baby sister.
The nurse came out, with a slightly crestfallen face, to tell the two youngsters that they had a little sister. Drommie was so excited, while Bella was more curious. The nurse then led the two into the room. They saw their mother resting, tired, on the bed, and holding in her arms a perfect little blonde-haired baby.
Both Bella and Meda's mouth and eyes opened in mirrored surprise as they gazed at the bundle. Drommie had never seen a baby before, and she petitioned to hold it. Together, with Bella, they held the little girl, their little Cissy, their mother's long cherished wish.
We are sisters. We will always be sisters. Our differences may never go away, but neither, for me, will our song. Nancy Kelton
She thinks about them, as she sits for tea, gazing out of the window with the cottage-styled curtains. Even though they disowned her, and burned her off the tapestry, Andromeda still knows that they are her sisters. Because blood is thicker than water, than anything, and that they will always be sisters, always have cherished childhood memories which cannot be forgotten.
Andromeda still loves Bellatrix, even though Bellatrix nearly strangled her after she told Bella that she had married Ted. And the fact that Bellatrix is in Azkaban shocks her slightly, because it is as if some part of her is in there too. Bella was always like her twin, and Drommie still cries for their lost sisterhood.
And Cissy, who always followed her older sisters. Andromeda still remembers holding her for the first time, a little baby doll to be loved like her own. Meda loves Cissy so much that whenever she passes her sister in Diagon Alley she yearns to reach out to Narcissa and to hold onto her once more, just like they did before everything changed. But Narcissa walks on, with that snotty Malfoy in hand, and Meda knows that both of their hearts break silently.
The three Black sisters. They will always be the three Black sisters, no matter their differences, no matter Bella's hate or Cissy's silent anguish or Drommie's love of Ted. There will always be their song.
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