There was a harsh rapping on the door followed by some brash words, tearing Andromeda from her sleep. She rolled over, away from the door, casting her gaze out of the second story bedroom window into the branches that danced in the summer wind.
Another set of knocks landed on Andromeda's door, this time calm and firm, before the sound of her younger sister came from the hall.
"Dromeda, we're going to be running late if you don't get out of bed right now," Narcissa warned.
Andromeda stuffed her head into her pillow, desperately dreading the day that was ahead of her.
"Augh ged ub in a munub," she muttered in response, her words muffled by the pillow.
A few seconds passed before she heard her door click open and the small clack of Narcissa's footsteps move across the dark hardwood floor of her bedroom. Andromeda kept her eyes shut as she moved her head out of her pillow. When she finally opened them, through a blanket of her own copper colored hair, she could make out her sister's big, round blue eyes just inches from her own grey ones, as Narcissa knelt next to Andromeda's bed.
"Bella's gone absolutely mental, Mum's running around like a chicken with no head trying to bake that bloody cake, and of course Papa's nowhere to be found. You're the only other sane one here and I need you to get out of bed," Narcissa pleaded curtly with a touch of humor in her tone.
Andromeda gave one last moan before sitting up in bed and giving a weak smile down at her younger sister.
"All right, Cissy, I'm up," Andromeda said slightly more cheerfully than she felt.
Narcissa stood up from where she knelt on the ground and waited patiently for her sister to get out of bed. Andromeda stood, taking her time to stretch before walking over to her closet. Suddenly a flurry of white cloth and frizzy dark hair stomped by the open bedroom door before abruptly stopping then backtracking to stand in the doorway with her hands on her hips.
"Excellent. You're up," Bellatrix snapped, "Didn't you hear me knock earlier?"
Andromeda glanced at Narcissa then back at their older sister.
"That was you?" Andromeda questioned incredulously. "Shit, I thought one of the horses was having a fit."
"Hun, cut the crap. Today's not about you," Bellatrix said with mock sweetness before disappearing down the hallway once again.
Andromeda turned back to her younger sibling.
"I'll be down in a little while, Cissy. I'm just going to get dressed," she explained on her way over to the bedroom door.
Narcissa took her cue and briskly walked out of the room, but not before she turned on her sister, her first finger pointed at Andromeda's face.
"If you're not down in 30 minutes I'll know you've lied to me and I'll have no choice but to make Bella my favorite," Narcissa threatened, "Promise me you'll not go back to bed?"
"I'll be down in exactly 31 minutes then," Andromeda teased, closing the door on her sister as she stood in the hallway.
Somewhere around a half hour later Andromeda appeared in the kitchen completely clothed and famished.
"Good to see you could finally join us," her mother said jokingly with a wide smile on her face.
Andromeda's mother was a petite woman around 40 years of age with hair that was just a few shades lighter than her daughter's. Her face was round and full of laugh lines around her sharp observant eyes, and plump lipped mouth.
Andromeda smiled warmly at her mother as she sat down reaching for a piece of toast from the center of the kitchen table. Druella Black was hard at work, her forehead dusted with powder from where she no doubt had wiped it and her apron was almost wholly covered with cake batter, egg yolk, and a few other ingredients Andromeda couldn't quite make out from the mess.
"Mum," Andromeda asked, still chewing her breakfast, "Why don't you let the cook bake Bella's cake?"
"How dare you suggest something like that," her mother feigned hurt. "If I can do one thing for each of you on your wedding day it will be to make your cakes. I can't do much else, but I am one damn good baker."
Andromeda chuckled, getting up from her spot at the table and kissing her mother on the cheek. She grabbed another piece of toast before exiting the kitchen into the dining room and out into the parlor. She passed some servant girls dusting the study and opened the door into her father's office, which she assumed to be empty, only to find that her father's chair was in fact occupied by none other than Cygnus Black himself.
She was halfway through opening the door when she realized her mistake. She swallowed her last bite of toast and immediately dropped her gaze to the floor before backing out of the room and attempting to close the door behind her.
"Andromeda," her father spoke shortly, stopping her from continuing to close the door, implying that he wanted her to enter.
"Sorry, Father." She apologized.
She then proceeded forward once again into his office, this time with much more caution.
Her father's office was dimly lit despite the clear, sunny day outside. There was one large window on the western wall that remained closed with the shutters drawn most days, the only source of light coming from a few standing candelabras and the two gas lanterns on either end of the large mahogany desk near the center of the room where it sat facing the door Andromeda had just come from.
From his place behind the desk, Andromeda carefully took in her father's features, doing her best to read his mood. He was a cold man of 50, but no one would assume his age from his wrinkle free complexion. He had sharp features and a cutting jaw, traits he had in common with his eldest daughter, his hair was cut short and quaffed at the top of his head, a dark brown shade with grey strands starting to pepper his sideburns and the strands surrounding his ears. Cygnus Black was a handsome man with sunken eyes who rarely smiled and mostly spoke of business, even with his family.
He broke his concentration from the piece of parchment in front of him to make steely eye contact with his second daughter.
"Andromeda," he stated again, "My colleague Aegis Yaxley and his son will be attending Bella's wedding this afternoon. I want you to introduce yourself and make them feel comfortable."
His blue eyes, a shade close to her smoky grey, cut through her in the familiar way they always did making her believe that he knew all of her secrets. Andromeda closed her mind to him like Bellatrix had taught her to do when they were younger and nodded curtly in response to her father's request.
"Thank you, he mumbled as he returned to the paper still in his hand, lifting the large feather quill from the ink well and furiously began writing.
Andromeda exited the office back into the buzzing house where the air was fresh and busy with conversation; she could breathe again. Not having to address her new task for a few hours, Andromeda took a deep breath and set out to find her older sister, the bride to be.
She was passing by the main dining room when she glanced inside and saw Bellatrix heatedly scolding one of the kitchen squibs.
Bellatrix stood with one hand on her hip while the other methodically rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"Helen," Bellatrix sternly continued, "I'll say it once more, there is too much spice in this gravy."
"The cook followed the recipe. I don't know-" Helen responded timidly.
"Well, she needs to fix it!" Bellatrix screeched, swinging her hand wide and away from her face, hitting the gravy boat, sending it sailing to the ground where it landed with a finite thud as gravy spilled out and spread into the Indian rug.
Andromeda quickly entered the room before more damage could be done.
"I'm so sorry!" Helen yelled, wide eyed.
She scrambled to pick up the silver dish then raced through the swinging door and into the kitchen.
"Bellatrix," Andromeda sighed.
Bellatrix swiveled around to face her younger sister, her eyes slightly watery and wide with surprise at her own actions.
"I didn't mean to, she was just so infuriating," she muttered frustratingly, "Squibs are even useless at house work."
Suddenly, the tears were gone from her eyes as she heaved a big sigh while Andromeda rubbed Bellatrix's arm for reassurance.
"Why don't you let me take care of this and you get yourself ready." Andromeda suggested softly, "I'll send Sarah up as soon as I encounter her."
"But the squib still doesn't know what-" Bellatrix started.
"Helen will be back to clean up and I'll follow her back into the kitchen to speak with the cook." Andromeda interjected, "I'll take care of it, go take a bath."
Bellatrix looked like she wanted to protest once more but instead nodded and left the dining room. Andromeda then turned to the darkening stain on the rug. She immediately withdrew her wand and waved it above the gravy while whispering a charm to remove it from the floral pattern. For a few moments she contemplated why her family kept squibs as help. Her cleaning abilities with a flick of her wand were far better than anything any one of them could manage to do with a whole bottle of cleaning potion. They were as useless at household chores as they were at doing magic.
Helen then suddenly burst through the connecting kitchen door with a sharp intake of breath, her eyes wide with panic before setting to a much more relaxed position.
"My apologies, Miss Black," she said, her eyes falling to the bottle of cleaning potion and rags in her hands, "You look so similar to the other Miss Black."
"That's all right, Helen," Andromeda responded with some annoyance, "I've already taken care of it. I'll speak with the cook now."
"Yes m'lady," Helen curtsied and scurried back into the kitchen.
Andromeda followed behind her through the swinging door. She silently cursed herself for how much she looked like Bella. This hadn't been the first time their shared dark hair and sharp eyes on a pale complexion were confused for one anothers. She normally didn't mind, but when it inspired such fear she wished she looked more like her mother and younger sister. Eventually, they came to the stove and preparation counter where three squibs of different ages were lined up cutting vegetables and marinating meats, all in preparation for the feast to follow the ceremony. The cook was slaving over a steaming pot, full of bubbling broth, teeming with carrots, celery and noodles. She immediately caught sight of Andromeda and Helen approaching and stopped stirring the soup.
"Miss Andromeda, how can I help you?" Mrs. MacCreedy questioned.
"I'd like to taste the gravy. Apparently it wasn't to my sister's standards," Andromeda stated plainly, "so I thought I would double check that everything was in order."
She paused for a moment, noting just how ridiculous she sounded.
"Even though I'm sure it tastes just fine," she continued with a reassuring smile.
Mrs. MacCreedy silently shifted in front of the stove top, uncovering a somewhat smaller pot toward the back, then took a clean spoon and scooped some of the thick brown liquid up for Andromeda to sample. Andromeda took the long handled utensil from the cook and raised it to her lips, slurping up some of the rich gravy passed her lips. The familiar taste flowed over her tongue and warmed her tummy, the spices coming together in perfect harmony as they had done so many times before. Andromeda shook her head and smiled with relief as she walked over to the sink to place the dirtied spoon into the basin.
"The gravy tastes as fine as ever, Mrs. MacCreedy," Andromeda comforted, "I'm sure Bellatrix meant no harm."
Mrs. MacCreedy released the tension in her brow and returned the smile, her anxieties obviously soothed.
"Thank you, Miss Andromeda," she stated, "If there's anything else we can do for you, be sure to let us know."
Andromeda nodded before exiting out of the main kitchen door and into the main servant hallway. Many squibs and house elves went racing up and down the hallway past Andromeda, all of them stopping to give a quick bow of their heads and a quiet "Miss Black" in greeting to one of the daughters of the house. She quickly exited through one of the hidden doors that opened up into the main study, a place where Andromeda had memories of many sunlit afternoons teasing Narcissa with Bellatrix while mere minutes later the younger Black sisters would team up and exact revenge on the eldest. Here there was no one now, since the house was not going to be apart of the festivities all of the servants and house elves were focusing their attentions on the extensive tent outside and the food preparations.
She sighed deeply, closed her eyes, and enjoyed the one second of solitude she was ensured to get all day. Andromeda stood for a moment allowing herself the pleasure of the sun hitting her face before opening her eyes and exiting the library into the main foyer where she thankfully found Sarah coming up from the basement with Bellatrix's wedding pressed and ready to be worn.
"Thank Agrippa," Andromeda exclaimed, catching Sarah off guard and causing her to come to a halt as she rounded the banister to the stairs up to the second floor, "Are you on your way up to Bella's room?"
"Y-yes, M'lady," Sarah responded, her expression somewhat resembling a deer in headlights."
"I won't stop you. If she's done what I suggested then she should just be stepping out of the bath when you get upstairs," Andromeda stated with a smile, which Sarah did not return.
She quickly curtsied and promptly walked up the stairs and disappeared behind the first door. Andromeda looked around, adjusting to the awkward encounter she had just participated in and quickly set out to find her mother or Narcissa to find out what else there was to do. She found her mother first, leaving the kitchen even more caked, if possible, with flour and a touch of frosting.
"Mum!" Andromeda called down the hallway where her mother didn't see her.
Druella pivoted quickly, her eyes inquisitive as to what her middle daughter might want.
"I was just wondering if there was anything else to get done," Andromeda said as she came down the hallway.
"No, darling," Druella wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, "I believe we're all finished. The servants are tending to the final details in the tent and I've just finished the cake!"
Andromeda smiled down at her mother, "Perfect, I'm going to head up stairs and get myself properly dressed before the guests start to arrive."
"All right, dear," Mrs. Black said waving her daughter off as she proceeded down the hallway in the direction she had heading previously, "I'm just going to check up on your father."
"Last I saw him he was in his study," Andromeda advised slightly from behind her mother before she exited the end of the corridor and promptly walked up the stairs.
When she made it to the top landing she turned right and feeling a little lighter on her feet, floated down the hallway toward her room at the end on the right. When she finally got inside she shut the door behind herself, sighing heavily after a long morning of running around and bracing for a robust afternoon of socializing. Andromeda pushed her back away from the thick mahogany door, walked over to her turntable, placed the needle on the record, and got dressed for the ceremony.
Guests started arriving slightly after three on the warm August afternoon, Andromeda more than happy to show them inside of the small stone church that sat on a property adjacent to the Black Estate in Kent county. Once all of the guests were seated, the middle Black sister took her spot by the doors of the chapel. A tall fair, dark haired gentleman came to stand next to her and offered him his arm. He had a sharp chin and cutting jaw line with a slender nose perfectly placed in the centered of his face. When he looked down at Andromeda his dark eyes ate into hers and she drowned for a moment in his mischievous smirk.
"I'm Tom," Tom introduced himself and slyly continued speaking, "You should probably take my arm."
Andromeda did as she was advised and wrapped her arm around his.
"I'm Andro-" she tried to say, but was interrupted.
"Oh, I know," Tom said, "You're Bellatrix's eldest younger sister. The family resemblance is remarkable, all though…"
He paused, taking a moment to flash his one sided smile down at her for a second time. But before he could continue, the organ began to play their entrance and the ceremony started.
The wedding was intimate, despite a rather large gathering of witches and wizards, and perhaps most importantly, it was over rather quickly.
Author Note:
So I'm just starting to get the hang of how to upload and edit and make notes on my stories, but I would really appreciate it if you guys could leave reviews and let me know what you think! Reviews are like late night cereal, sweet and much appreciated! I hope you enjoy what I have so far and expect more shortly :) -Elyse