AN: I do not own the Harry Potter universe. I am simply borrowing it for a fic. Enjoy!
Written for the Ice Cream Factory Challenge!
She Chooses
It was only natural. Everyone in her family had a love for Dark magic… even if they didn't care to admit it. Andromeda was no different—but the difference with the second child of Cygnus and Druella Black lay in the fact that she didn't know it. In fact, many in her house were sure that she didn't want to know it.
It's recent history—history that Andromeda actually cares to listen to in her lessons with Professor Binns. Gellert Grindelwald is a monster in most people's eyes—although she knows of many who delight at the suggestion of his name; she's one of them, though it's much more subtle… a tingling of her spine that she suppresses time and time again.
But everyone knows suppression is difficult to maintain. Eventually, the truth bursts forth like water from a collapsed dam—or blood from a punctured artery.
The imagery in her mind is animalistic, but sophisticated at the same time. She chooses to see sophisticated: ruby red waterfalls flowing from flesh so pale it could be marble.
It's a cold winter day when she realises the effect the dark wizard's name has on her. Sat in the cold stone-walled room that Professor Binns never bothers to warm, (he's a ghost; he doesn't feel those things) Andromeda listens attentively as he drones on about the topic in History she finds the most fascinating. Even his monotone can't dull the electrifying tale of Gellert Grindelwald.
She understands that what Grindelwald wanted to do was wrong, but she looks past the obvious, and focuses on the complexity of this man. As Andromeda researches, she finds there's layer upon layer of mystery surrounding him, and she can't help but want to know the real wizard.
She's always had a thirst for knowledge. The Sorting Hat had informed her that she would fit nicely into Ravenclaw—in fact, any house. She had asked where she would have the most resources (of course, it had screamed Slytherin after that).
Throughout the course of her research, she finds that there are differing accounts of the man, some vastly different to others. She studies newspaper articles, textbooks, and biographies—yet, she cannot solve the puzzle.
After a particularly disastrous night of research in her dormitory, Andromeda leaves her books to join her friends in the common room. It's a futile effort for some rest; the allure of a discovery draws her back to her bed after a mere twenty minutes.
She's just about to enter her dormitory when she hears the sound of footsteps behind her and a hand wraps around her wrist. The grip is gentle, but she knows Rabastan has the capacity to snap it in half—and crush all the other bones in her hand at the same time.
It doesn't scare her. She sees nothing but a sea of sanity in his eyes; she's safe.
Perhaps that is what makes his dark deeds so unsettling. He's in control; all the darkness comes from him.
Andromeda can't deny she's attracted to something about Rabastan. She chooses not to acknowledge it might just be that dark aura, the sense of danger that radiates from him.
She turns around to face the wizard. "Yes, Rab?"
His eyes soften at the endearment, and Andromeda chooses not to see the promise of what he's going to become or what he's seen already. "Since you didn't come to Hogsmeade, I got you something," he says, and she can see a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"You didn't have to," she says, and she means it, even whilst feeling excited for the present. He hands her something rectangular, and she feels that it's a book, but the doorway to the dormitories casts odd shadows, and she can't see the title. "Can we go back to the common room?" she asks. "I can't see what this says."
She can see the disappointment in his eyes; he wanted this to be a private moment. A moment of silence passes whilst she wonders what to do. She can't invite him into a dormitory; the wards don't let boys through.
"How about we go into your dormitory?" she suggests, and Rabastan is silent for a moment before he takes the book from her with one hand and leads her to his dormitory with the other.
When they reach the room, she finds it's similar to the girls' dormitories, with a huge pane of glass allowing the students to look out into the lake. She follows Rabastan to his four-poster, sitting cross-legged on his sheets.
He's about to hand her the book again when she notices a deep scratch along the back of his hand. "What on earth happened to your hand?" she asks, frowning.
Rabastan laughs, and to Andromeda, it sounds nervous. He's hiding something. "It's nothing," he says.
"It most certainly isn't nothing!"
He laughs again, and she swears that if he does that one more time, she'll conduct a thorough investigation of his person to figure it out herself—even if she hurts him. "Andy, you worry too much."
She can't help the smile that comes onto her face, but she says: "I don't. What happened?"
And then Rabastan laughs again, and Andromeda attempts to grab his hand to take a look at the wound. Unfortunately, Rabastan has quick reflexes, and she's got her arms trapped above her head in seconds. He hovers above her, clearly amused at the predicament she's in, but careful to be a gentleman.
"What were you trying to do?" he asks; his breath tickles her face. Instead of answering, Andromeda twists her head to the side, trying to see the wound.
But she quickly sees her attempts are futile and looks right up at him, her breath almost stolen away by that sanity all over again. She doesn't know why it feels so unfamiliar—so refreshing; she sees herself in the mirror each day, perfectly sane. Perhaps she's been seeing too much of Bella…
There's a madness within herself that she chooses not to see. She's surrounded by insanity, and so she clings to every bit of knowledge, every bit of logic. Rabastan is sane; he's completely and utterly sane, and it steals her breath away because she spends too much time in her own company.
Of course, outwardly, Andromeda is composed. "I wanted to see that scratch on your hand; it's huge."
"Andy," he says, and his voice is gentle. "It's not something you should be thinking about."
Then she realises.
Rabastan has been a Death Eater for two weeks now. Rodolphus told Bella one night, (she doesn't admit to it, but Andromeda knows that her sister and Rodolphus have been more intimate than they should be), and in turn, Bella told her and Cissy.
Bella has a strange obsession with becoming a Death Eater. Andromeda can't understand why so many people support the Dark Lord. In her eyes, he's a maniac—pure evil.
"It does concern me," she says quietly, and her eyes flick to Rab's lips for the briefest of moments.
He releases her then, sitting back on his haunches with a sad smile. She's sure he knows of her true feelings towards the Death Eaters, despite her never telling him. "I didn't give you your gift," he says.
He hands it to her and she reads the title: Reconstructing the Life of Gellert Grindelwald.
Whilst Andromeda sits, speechless, Rabastan says, "I hope you like it. I know you've been researching him. I hope it's helpful for your project."
"Oh, Rabastan, it's brilliant," says Andromeda, turning to Rabastan. He's still sat back on his haunches, and his dark hair is falling over his eyes after the tackle he delivered moments ago.
There's a voice in her head that's screaming improper because she's considering carrying out a thought that just flicked through her head. Thinking about it for a moment, Andromeda realises she doesn't quite care about what is improper. Bella does things that are improper all the time, and so do plenty of other people…
So she moves over to Rabastan and places a kiss on his lips, and she can tell he's shocked by the way he stiffens, but soon enough, he's responding, not breathing a word about improperness.
She's enjoying herself, she really is, but there's a presence behind her back that makes her want to pull away from Rabastan. As she feels a hand thread into her hair, she tries to push all thoughts of Gellert Grindelwald from her mind—but she really can't.
So she pulls away, far sooner than she would have liked. Rabastan is looking at her expectantly; his prominent cheekbones have a slight flush to them.
"I—I have homework to do," she lies.
Rabastan smirks. "You go do that then," he says, and she's relieved that he's not upset about it.
She picks up the book, and with another thank you, she leaves.
Back in her own dormitory, Andromeda falls onto her bed, a huge smile on her face. She can't quite believe what she just did, and as she turns onto her side, she hugs the book Rab bought her close.
Looking across her sheets, she grins. There's a huge array of books that she left open just before, all to do with Gellert. She can feel that pull again, coming from deep within her.
She spends the evening researching, but still, her thirst for knowledge isn't quenched.
Her curiosity about this wizard is never satiated. For years, she will have fitful dreams, until, one day, she takes matters into her own hands. She visits Nurmengard.
She's a woman now, and still, she chooses not to see her dark side.