Random fic came to me while I should have been writing for Kiss: The First. Anyway, tis about Andromeda right after she has managed to leave the Most Noble House of Black to be with Ted.
The young woman was lying facedown on a rug. Sobs were racking her thin frame. There was carpet dust in her mouth, and her raven hair was coated in white lint. Her arms were over her head, trembling and moving as she sobbed. She keened with her mouth, the sound made her wince; it came from far, far inside her. Further inside her than she had known existed – too far. Her eyes were shut, but somehow, tears made their way through the porcelain-doll lashes and poured out onto the carpet. Her nose was red; her cheeks were flushed.
A bag lay next to her. It hadn't been shut properly, because she had managed to grab it only by the skin of her fingertips. Things overflowed the borders of the bag and spilled elegantly onto the carpet. There was a photo frame on top of a set of red dress robes. Three little girls stared at the ceiling. The youngest was also the fairest, and her pale eyes were rolling at the laughter of the older sisters but the corners of her mouth betrayed her coolness with pretty twitches. She wore a velvet ribbon in her hair and her cheekbones were cut so finely she had the appearance of a human diamond. The eldest was laughing the hardest, and saying something to her youngest sister. She was almost indistinguishable from the middle sister except her hair was unkempt, though not inelegantly so. Her eyes were grey and her tongue would poke out between her teeth every so often and moisten her lips. The girl in the middle, who was the girl on the white rug, was grinning. She had both her arms thrown around the other two. Her hair was in two simple braids and she gave the air of being the foundation of a three-girl building. She alone stared directly at the camera, and at the last minute, her tongue stuck out at the photographer. Her eyes were the only feature truly different to her older sister's; instead of warm grey, they were deep brown, almost black, and they occasionally flickered over her sisters with exceeding warmth.
There was a man in the room. He would not have called himself a man yesterday, but, after the night's escapades, he thought he had perhaps earned the title. She was frail, still. He had not been able to treat her magically, because two hours ago she had fallen face down on his family's hearth rug and she had been sobbing there since. Her father had … the man almost shuddered in revulsion… treated her like an animal. He was glad he had eavesdropped outside the window and managed to help her escape. He sat at her side, absently pulling at the rug and causing the fluff to veil her hair. She looked like a bride for a moment, with her covering of white cotton-wool. He reached out and brushed one of the arms that covered her head. She untangled herself and looked at him. Her eyes were rimmed with red blotches. She had never looked more … candid, around him. He opened his arms simply, and she crawled painfully towards him. As he held her, he resisted the urge to pick up his wand and repair the damage down to her by her father. He realized that some wounds have nothing to do with the physical spectrum. He holds her and he loves her. She breathes in his arms and she loves him.
A little part of her twinges with doubt: she hopes it was worth it.
Year later she attends her older sister's trial. As she watches the once beautiful woman proclaim Voldemort's return, a shot of pain erupts in her heart.
She remembers the word "Mudblood" caking in her mouth with blood from a bitten lip.
She remembers grey eyes and foreshadowing giggles.
She remembers blonde tresses and whispered wishes.
She remembers lies fed to her on the end of silver spoons.
She remembers three souls, wrapped together under covers and singing a lullaby to calm their fears.
She looks straight into Bella's eyes one last time and she sees nothing in her sister, anymore. She remembers the lullaby:
Whisper, whisper moon,
Softly in my ear,
Tell me of those things,
My heart so longs to hear.
I've secrets by the dozen,
And fears, plenty more,
Whisper, whisper moon,
To my heart, my core.
She absently lifts a hand to her heart and finds herself mouthing the words to Bella, who simply scowls before being led away, still yelling. Andromeda Tonks will never again regret that she sits in this seat, and Bella is the one standing down there.
Hm. Not sure I like it. Review please. serendipity.