31 - Defile

Andromeda turns away, her gaze fixed on the wall opposite her bed. She hates this. Her little sister doesn't understand, how could she? Two, three years ago, Andromeda would have laughed – cruelly, no doubt – at the mere thought of leaving her family behind for, for what?

A lover? Oh yes, she would have laughed. The similarities between the two elder Black sisters didn't end with their looks. They were both rebellious at heart, but not to the point of defying their family's vow of Toujours pur. Never. Of course, they had wanted to know more than they should. Bella had even gone so far as to find teachers outside the family, even though they both knew that only the Blacks were in possession of the true prize, the secret magic they both desired.

Neither of them had ever longed for love, unlike Narcissa. Although these days, Andromeda was never sure whether it was love the younger woman desired or family and independence from their parents. Cissy had always been different from the other Blacks, in appearance and attitude, and her father had made her feel that it made her inferior. Still, she had probably become their best student. Black women weren't to seek magic, they were to guide their husbands for the good of the family.

I might do that, she thought idly, a small and bitter smile forming on her face, not that they would want him.

She knew why she was going with him. It was because she couldn't stay. Not another day, not with the parents who would have her married off in within three months, and to Evan Rosier no less.

Oh, she loved Ted. But Andromeda Black was not the kind of girl to forget everything in the face of love. Ted Tonks offered her much more of what she desired than her parents ever could. Happiness, for one. Independence and opportunities. He was training with the Department of Mysteries, a place that she had always been drawn to. Perhaps Narcissa could understand her after all.

"I can't stay, Cissy. You know that, don't you?" Her voice was soft, much like it had been when they were younger. She still couldn't bear to look at her pretty sister.

Narcissa didn't speak for a moment. Andromeda could feel the mattress moving slightly as her sister sat down next to her.

"You know what you're doing, don't you?" Narcissa asked softly, gently. It wasn't the answer Andromeda would have expected, but it would have to do.

She nodded slowly. "Yes, I think so." Her gaze moved over the colourful curtains and the plain, silvery grey carpet before settling on her sister's face. "If I left today, what would they do? What would you do?"

As before, Narcissa took her time to think. "Mother might … no, I don't think so. Father would disown you, make it known that he has nothing to do with you. Aunt Walburga would take it personally, you know that." That much was to be expected, and surprisingly, it didn't faze Andromeda as much as it might have. Years of being ignored unless misbehaving had driven the sisters closer together and them all further apart from everyone else.

She felt her hands shake as she hesitated to ask further. "Bella?"

Her little sister shook her head, pulling her feet up onto the bed. They looked so small, so dainty, resting on the light green blanket. "Once, maybe. Not anymore."

They both knew that was true. Ever since her marriage had freed her, Bella had been spending her time with the group people had – affectionately, no doubt – named Death Eaters.

"You?"

"We might write," Narcissa answered quietly, uncertainly. It was all Andromeda needed to hear.

"If I wrote, you'd answer? You wouldn't tell your husband?" The small, calm chuckle that followed lacked Narcissa's usual brightness.

"I'm not married to Lucius yet." She paused, gauging Andromeda's reaction. "But once I am, I don't intend to have him supervise my correspondence, and he wouldn't."

With a fresh burst of energy, Andromeda got up and looked around the room for a moment. Apart from the curtains, everything in here was Slytherin. Not that she minded. She loved her house, just not the other serpents.

"What are you doing?" Cissy inquired almost hurriedly, her voice pitched higher than it usually was.

"Packing," she answered, a new determination in her voice as she opened her suitcase to find books, her wand, her key to the Gringotts vault that had come into her possession when she had turned seventeen and some clothes. "I don't need much."

Most other sisters would have reacted to this in some other manner, but Narcissa just looked at her probingly for another minute, then nodded. "Do what you have to do, Andy." She left the room.

Andromeda kept rummaging through a cabinet, firmly keeping all thoughts of Bella at bay. "So, let's defile that prettily pure family tree!" she whispered to herself, realizing that like her sisters, she too had found a way out.

tbc