Snow had fallen the past night and had since begun to melt
Black Winter
(for lack of a better title)
By: Littlefern
Snow had fallen the past night and had since begun to melt. Rather than play in the slush, the three Black sisters had chosen to stay inside; after all, Bellatrix could hardly stand to deal with her two younger siblings asking her to teach them about their names for much longer (as they'd been at it all winter).
"So this is Bellatrix," said a seven-year-old Andromeda, her cheeks rosy with the cold, but her eyes burning with excitement at the lesson with her sisters.
"That's right, Andy," replied a nine-year-old Bellatrix, nodding knowingly as her sister pointed out the brightly shining star in the constellation Orion. "Bellatrix means female warrior…"
"…which certainly isn't you, Bella!" Narcissa, of age five, giggled, poking fun at her older sibling.
A flicker of annoyance was present in Bellatrix' s expression, but it soon vanished, to be replaced by a jokingly fierce stare. The eldest sister hissed, fake-menacingly, "Are you so sure of that, Cissy?"
She lurched across the bed and tackled Narcissa into the pillows behind her and began to tickle her – an action answered with another spout of giggles from the small blonde-haired girl. Andromeda smiled wryly at them, but soon turned back to the model of space the sisters were looking at.
"Andromeda's not a star, though, is it?" said the middle sister, looking inquiringly to Bellatrix.
Unraveling herself from Narcissa, Bellatrix sat back up and answered, "No, Andromeda's not a star – but it is an entire galaxy."
Andromeda had pouted a bit upon hearing that her name was not a star, but at the continuation of Bellatrix's sentence she squealed with glee. "Really? An entire galaxy?"
Narcissa, however, lacked Andromeda's enthusiasm – for an obvious reason. Hardly a second had passed after Andromeda's outburst when Narcissa added, "What's a galaxy?"
Andromeda shrugged; clearly, she was just happy that her name was a galaxy, whatever a galaxy was. Bellatrix looked thoughtful for a moment, then replied, bluntly truthful, "I don't really know, Mum didn't say. Something in space, I think. And it's big."
The two younger girls nodded, seemingly happy with Bellatrix's answer. Soon, Narcissa asked, "And is there a Narcissa star, like the Bellatrix star?"
Bellatrix shook her head. "No, there isn't a Narcissa star."
"So there's a Narcissa galaxy, right?" Narcissa looked hopeful. Next to her, Andromeda looked faintly curious.
Bellatrix, however, shook her head again. "No, there's not a Narcissa galaxy, either."
Narcissa glowered at her sister's words, grabbing a pillow and clutching it tightly, almost defensively. "I want a galaxy like Andy or a star like you, Bella."
Andromeda suddenly remembered something. "But Cissy, you're named after a flower! Mum told me."
"Right again, Andy," Bellatrix noted. Narcissa seemed to brighten a bit at this.
"A flower?" said the little pale-haired girl, looking guilelessly into her sisters' faces in turn.
Andromeda nodded. "A pretty one."
Of course, Andromeda knew no such thing. For all she knew, the flower Narcissa was named for was ugly; but, again of course, she wasn't going to tell her sister that. Bellatrix seemed to sense it and cast Andromeda an amused look, but said nothing.
"C'mon Andy, Cissy, let's go get some hot chocolate while Mum and Dad are away. They'll never notice," said Bellatrix suddenly, sliding off the bed and beckoning for her sisters to follow. Narcissa took after her eldest sibling almost immediately. Andromeda stayed behind long enough to tuck a piece of parchment she'd been doodling on into her pocket before heading down to the kitchen with her sisters.
--
It was Christmas, years after the three sisters had gone to Hogwarts, had grown up, and, in Andromeda's case, had split apart.
Bellatrix Lestrange stood at the corner of a remote intersection in London, watching the cold snow drift down around her, awaiting news from one of her fellow Death Eaters. Her mind momentarily drifted toward the memory of her and her sisters. She quickly shooed the thought away; she no longer wanted to remember it.
Narcissa Malfoy watched as her young son, Draco, walked by holding a goblet full of water for his father; the cup had the distinctive Black family crest on it. Narcissa herself had used the very same cup years ago, usually when she and her sisters had snuck into the kitchen to make hot chocolate on cold days. Narcissa wished she was that young again, so that all she had to worry about was learning about old Black family names.
Miles away in a warm, fire lit household, Andromeda Tonks gazed at a piece of old, very old, parchment. Three little girls were drawn on it – one with light, un-shaded hair, the other two with much darker hair. The trio was easily recognizable, as was the time the drawing was made. Andromeda wanted to go back to that time, if only to be with the two people who meant more to her than life itself.
Each woman closed her eyes at once, far apart but united still, and thought, for just a moment, about what she really wanted. It was no surprise at all what their answers were: Bellatrix wished for power, Narcissa wanted simplicity, Andromeda longed for love.
As Christmas day came to an end, each sister realized that her wish had been granted. But, as all other things in this world work, they had been granted at a terrible price.
They had each gained what their hearts truly desired, but they had inescapably lost each other.
So much for the sisters Black…
A/N: Well, this is my first attempt at fanfiction, so I didn't want to write anything too terribly long, just in case writing is another one of those things that I fail horribly at.
If this little story goes over well, I'll probably write more – I certainly have more ideas – about the three Black sisters, particularly Andromeda, as her character intrigues me, so please be sure to review and let me know how I'm doing. I would greatly appreciate it.