Though she would never admit it, she missed it.
She missed the life that they had previously occupied. It felt no different than a portrait now; something to gaze at, but not to empathize with.
She understands why they left. Weren't their lives supposed to be so much better now that Andromeda and Sirius were gone? No one would argue, no one would disagree with conversations. But to her, there will always be those two empty seats.
She especially missed her daughter.
The photographs of her were thrown into the fire that night by an enraged Cygnus. Her husband embodied fury that night. He was always cold and calculating, but that night had taken hold of him in a horrible way. That fire burned bright and steadfast as her soul became dark and dank. It will never heal.
Andromeda was gone.
Was it worth it? She wanted to demand that from her daughter. Was it really that difficult to believe what was right? And even if she didn't, could she not tolerate it to hold her family together?
They were going down in flames, burning like the photographs of Andromeda that night. One by one, they fell. Sirius and Andromeda fell in their own right, at least in accordance to the morals they were raised on. However, in their mindset, they ascended.
What a glorious thing, to ascend.
Glaring out the dining room window into the English countryside, she sat at the satin covered table. Her tea sat untouched, her breakfast disregarded. Her eyes flickered to the newspaper that Cygnus had not seen yet. She picked up that day's Daily Prophet. Written ever so small, in a squashed corner, a wedding announcement stared back at her. Her daughter had been married. Andromeda now severed ties in every way she could. She no longer identified with the name of Black.
Walking silently up the stairs, hoping her husband would not hear her in his study, she crossed the dark hallway and opened the door to her dayroom. She hurried to the small writing desk next to the large bay window and pulled a tiny embroidered box from within it. Opening it, she placed the tiny clipping from the paper inside. She closed it and placed it back in her desk for safekeeping.
Druella Black walked back across the sunlit room and closed the door.