The challenge for this week was to write about a specific member of the black family. My member was Andromeda Black.
Optional prompts: "It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."-Albus Dumbledore, Good as gold, Dialogue: "Your father and I disagree; you are forbidden."
A Burn on the Wall
The mansion was silent on that quiet evening near the end of summer. The parents were sleeping soundly each dreaming their own separate versions of their daughters' weddings. The house elves were exhausted after the endless wedding preparations, and even the family portraits found their eyes closing and their breathing slowing as the clocks announced the hours in chiming determination. No one noticed the three female figures hurrying into the upstairs lounge by low wand light.
"Close the door, Bella," Narcissa breathed as the final figure slipped into the room.
Once the click of the door was heard, Bella turned on the lights and silenced the room before turning to her sisters. Narcissa was sitting in the rocking chair by the fire with her needlework while Andromeda was sitting cross-legged in the armchair. Bella crossed to the fire and flopped onto the couch. The sisters had been gathering like this for many years, and it had quickly become their most treasured tradition.
"I can't believe this is the last summer we'll have together," Andromeda sighed.
"Oh come on; we've known since last summer that Cissy was getting married this fall. Where's the surprise?" Bella scoffed.
"I know I've known, it's just that getting ready for the wedding has driven it home," Andromeda replied. "I don't want this to be the end."
"It isn't the end, Dromeda," Narcissa soothed. "It's not like we'll be separated forever; I'm just getting married."
"Lucky," Bella hissed.
"Why do you have a thing for Lucius too?" Andromeda teased.
"Oh Merlin no!" Bella cried, wrinkling her nose. "I mean, have you seen his hair?!" She mimed preening herself. "Oh no! I have a split end! The world's ending!" she copied Lucius's voice, and all three girls burst out laughing.
"Oh leave him alone!" Narcissa chided them gently after calming her own laughter. "He's not so bad."
"Maybe not for you," Bella conceded, "but I would never be able to stand him. He simply lords over everyone with his money and refuses to actually do anything."
"So you want power, not money?" Andromeda asked.
"Oh don't be silly, little sister: I want both," Bella grinned. "The only people who get places in this world are the people with money and power."
"What about love?" Andromeda asked quietly, staring intently at her lap.
"'Love', my dear sister," Bella replied sourly. "Love doesn't exist."
"Why would you say that?" Narcissa cried.
"Do you love Lucius?" Bella challenged.
"O-of course I do," Narcissa replied. "Why would I have said yes if I didn't?"
"Because Mummy and Daddy told you that you were marrying him, and being the good as gold child you are, you didn't have a choice!" Bella cried.
"Bella…Mum and Dad love you just as much as they do us," Andromeda offered.
"No they don't and you know it!" Bella screamed. "Cissy's the perfect eldest child, and you're the problem baby; they don't have any time for the insane one in the middle!"
"That's not true!" Narcissa cried.
"What do you mean 'problem baby'?!" Andromeda screamed.
"I mean that excuse for a boyfriend you've been with all this time!" Bella sneered. "It's bad enough you aren't in Slytherin, but to be dating a mudblood, Dromeda…"
"Don't you dare call him that!" Andromeda cried indignantly. "I love him!"
"Don't you see how much better you can do than him?" Bella urged. "You're so young and pretty; there are dozens of pureblood men that would count themselves lucky to wed you!"
"I don't want any of them," Andromeda whined. "I want Ted."
"Mum will never stand for it," Bella insisted. "Please just take a look at Cissy's wedding. You never know; you may land yourself the perfect man."
"I already have, Bella," Andromeda pressed. "Ted and I love each other more than anything else in this world."
"More than us?" Bella whispered.
"Bella that's enough," Narcissa said sharply. "Don't you dare make her choose between us and him."
"You can't possibly approve of this match, Cissy!" Bella said gesturing at Andromeda. "I mean…he's a-"
"I know," Narcissa cut her off. "But I will not stand for you making her chose between her family and anyone. We are your sisters, Dromeda," Narcissa added, turning to her. "And no matter what you do, we will support you."
"You can't promise that," Bella hissed. "Mother would never let us speak to her again if she stays with him, and neither will our husbands."
"Rodolphus has too much power over you," Narcissa sighed.
"He doesn't love you either," Andromeda piped up.
"Again, what does that matter?" Bella replied.
"I heard him talking about how much better than you he could do, but that we were the best family he could imagine getting into. He wants our fame and fortune…not you, Bella. You should be with someone who appreciates you," Andromeda begged.
"I don't care what he thinks of me!" Bella snapped. "I'm going to get married, have loads of money and power, and then offer my services to the Dark Lord himself."
Both Narcissa and Andromeda gasped.
"Bella you can't!" Andromeda cried.
"Why on earth would you join with him?" Narcissa asked in a whisper.
"Because that's what all the powerful people are doing, and I want to be a part of it," Bella smiled. "Besides, Rodolphus has already announced his intentions to join up, and Cissy, don't you think Lucius will join as well?"
"We haven't spoken of it," Narcissa admitted. "And frankly…I don't want to think about it."
"Well I will be," Bella insisted. "And someday, I'll be his right hand servant. I'll be his best and most loyal! You'll see…"
Andromeda stared at her sister in shock and sadness. There was no point trying to convince her that she didn't need to join the Death Eaters to gain favor from their parents…Bella had lost all hope of parental love years ago.
"Now we all know my future plans, and we know Narcissa's going to be a housewife and have children," Bella teased with a glance at her older sister, "but what about you, Dromeda?"
Andromeda swallowed. For some time now she had been thinking of her future, but she rather doubted her sisters would approve. "I…I won't lie to you," she began in a shaky voice. "I love you both too much for that. I…I want to marry Ted and raise a family."
"WHAT?!" Bella shrieked. Narcissa remained silent, but bit her lip and hung her head slightly.
"How could you possibly dream of such a thing?" Bella cried. "Didn't we just tell you that Mother would never allow it?"
"I thought that maybe if I talked to her and maybe had her meet Ted…" Andromeda pleaded. "I know she'd love him right away!"
"I'm sure she would until she found out he was a mudblood!" Bella said sarcastically.
"Don't call him that!" Andromeda sobbed.
"How can you do this to us…to yourself?" Bella demanded, swinging her legs over the couch and pacing in front of the fire. "You're dooming yourself to a life of nothing! Mother and Father will cut you off, and we…we won't ever see you again."
"You don't know that," Andromeda tried vainly. "Maybe Mum and Dad will be alright with the marriage."
"Are you insane?!" Bella laughed. "They'll never, and I mean never be ok with this marriage." She sighed and looked down at her little sister. "Please, Dromeda…don't make me hate you."
With that, Bella bid them both good night and left the room for her own bed down the hall. Not long after, Narcissa packed away her needlework and left as well.
Andromeda curled into herself and stared into the dying fire. She longingly remembered happier times when she and her sisters were unhindered by the burden of marriage: the long summers spent in France, Italy, and Ireland. Tears came quickly when she imagined never spending another moment with her sisters, and a sudden burst of energy sped her back to her room and over to her desk. Her arm unconsciously reached for a piece of parchment, and a letter to Ted ending their relationship was half written when something stayed her hand.
"It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."
The words of her headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, rang in her ears and stopped the letter mid-page. Andromeda forced herself to pause and consider a life bound to a man other than Ted, and her heart turned cold in her chest. What was she to do? How could she give up Ted: the man who had become ever so dear to her? But then, how could she possibly leave her sisters: the dearest of her family?
She shredded the letter on her desk before crawling over to her bed and crying herself to sleep as the clock announced the hour of three.
Andromeda peered around the corner of her parents' study the following afternoon. Her mother was sitting by the fireplace eagerly flipping through her wedding planner while her father sat at the desk checking his accounts. To announce her presence, Andromeda knocked on the frame of the door.
"Andromeda, darling," her father smiled, glancing up from his book.
"Is something wrong, dear?" her mother asked anxiously.
"No there was just something I wanted to talk to you about," Andromeda admitted.
"Well come in, dear," her mother smiled warmly and moved some of the wedding material to make a space on the couch beside her.
"What is it, love?" her father asked.
Andromeda swallowed hard and attempted to steady her breathing. "It…it's about a…a boy," she began.
"Oh a boy how wonderful!" her mother cried.
"Calm yourself, my dear," her father smiled at her mother. "Let her finish."
"Oh of course; I'm sorry, Dromeda. Do go on," her mother urged.
"He's wonderful!" Andromeda gushed. "He's so sweet, and kind, and loving, and smart, and talented…I couldn't find a better man if I looked for a thousand years…well, except for you, Daddy," Andromeda grinned.
Her father chuckled. "He better be all of that to deserve my baby girl."
"He sounds lovely, dear; what's his name?" her mother asked eagerly.
"Well…you probably won't know it," Andromeda admitted. "He's not exactly from a well-known family."
"What is it, dear?" her father asked. "You'd be surprised how many families we know."
"His name…his name's Ted: Ted Tonks," Andromeda whispered.
"Tonks…" her mother whispered. "I've never heard it before. Are they a half-blood family?" she asked.
"If so, I think we can manage," her father added.
"Well…not exactly," Andromeda admitted, twisting her fingers together in her lap. "He's not a pureblood either."
"Darling…what are you saying?" her mother asked apprehensively.
"He's…oh Mother…he's a muggle born!"
The atmosphere in the room changed in a heartbeat. Her mother shrieked and clutched at her heart, and her father's smile vanished from sight.
"You…he's…how could you?!" her mother screamed.
"He's still a great man," Andromeda pressed.
"He's a mudblood!" her mother shrieked. "How could you let yourself be touched by such filth?!"
"Mother please don't…" Andromeda pleaded.
"Dromeda…why don't you leave and let me talk with your mother for a bit," her father suggested gently.
Andromeda nodded through her tears and left the room. She ran upstairs and found her sisters standing on the landing.
"You told them, didn't you?" Bella asked darkly.
"I…I had to!" Andromeda sobbed. "I can't imagine my life without you two or him! I had to try."
Narcissa sighed and pulled her sister into a tight hug, allowing her to sob unrestrainedly into her shoulder. After a moment, Bella, in a rare showing of emotion, added her arms to the mix, and the sisters wrapped each other in a tight embrace. No one noticed the clock in the hall striking the hour of three.
Several hours later, Andromeda heard her mother enter her bedroom. "Your father and I have concluded our discussion," she said shrilly. "Your father believes that we should give this young man a chance and allow him to court you properly."
Andromeda stared with an open mouth at her mother: was it truly possible…
Her mother fixed her with an unwavering glare. "Your father and I disagree; you are forbidden!" She slammed the door without another word.
Andromeda sat upon her bed with an expression of horror etched on her face. Any hope she had had for having both her sisters and her love had just been dashed. Now a choice was all that lay before her: either her sisters and a life with a man she could not love, or her love and no sisters.
She fell back upon her pillow and sobbed again until her eyes could cry no more. As the sun fell behind the hills surrounding the manor and the red light stained Andromeda's room, she sat up and wiped her eyes. She knew what it was she had to do, and she knew it was best to end her pain sooner rather than later. She reached beneath her bed and pulled out her Hogwarts trunk.
That night, Andromeda snuck out of her room and pulled her trunk along behind her. As she crossed through the halls of the house, she passed the room where the family tapestry hung and couldn't resist ducking inside for a last look. She slowly walked around the room and stared at every face so carefully crafted; it was as though she was trying to memorize every face and name on the wall.
She finally reached the point on the wall where her immediate family smiled at her. Lovingly, she traced the faces of her sisters before turning to her own face. As she stared at it, she realized exactly what she was going to do. Tears once again spilled from her eyes as she traced the line binding her to her sisters. "You have to do it you know," a voice whispered from behind her.
"Oh Cissy! I don't think I can!" Andromeda sobbed. "I don't want to be just a burn on the wall!"
"Listen to me," Narcissa pleaded, seizing her sister's arms. "You love him, and you have chance for a life filled with love and happiness. You heard Bella last night; she'll be joining the Death Eaters the first chance she gets, and I know Lucius will expect me to do the same. You've always been stronger than either of us, and you don't deserve to be stuck in a life of evil."
"Wh-why don't you leave with me?" Andromeda begged.
"You know I can't," Narcissa sighed. "Things are just…too far along now for me. You have hope for a real life, and I want you to go live it! I don't care what Mother does to this tapestry," she added. "You will never be just a burn on the wall to me, and I know Bella would say the same thing. We love you, Dromeda, and we want you to be happy. You will always be our little sister, but that doesn't mean that you have to live the way we live. Now, get out of here before Mother hears. Go!"
Andromeda hugged her sister with everything she had before pulling her trunk to the door. She cast one last look over her shoulder before hurrying down the stairs and across the lawn.
Narcissa stood in the doorway of the house and watched as her sister moved to the edge of their property. When she was just a tiny speck in the distance, Narcissa saw Andromeda spin on the spot and vanish from the grounds. Just as she disappeared, Narcissa heard the clock strike in the main hallway beside her. From her room on the third floor, Bella watched her sister vanish and heard the clock strike as well. Each sister counted two chimes and felt tears run down their cheeks as they realized their sister, Andromeda, was gone from their lives and would not be back.