The Broken Bonds of the Sisters Black
Early evening of a frosty winter's day and a somber looking mother sits in her chair by a roaring fire, watching her child bound clumsily around the room brandishing a shiny silver spoon as if it were a deadly weapon.
"Aha!" Shrieks the little girl, thrusting the spoon forward and waving it at a bemused looking owl sat proudly in it's cage on a sideboard. "Take that, Death Eater!"
The mother lets out a small sigh, but says nothing, staring into the flames of the fire.
"Oh no!" The girl cries, mimicking her invisible victim as she pretends to heave them across the carpet. "What are you going to do with me?!" Reaching her mother's side she draws herself up to her full height and folds her arms across her chest importantly. "You are going to rot in Azkaban!" She announces, looking terribly pleased with herself.
"Enough, Nymphadora." Her mother says, plucking the spoon from her hand, causing the girl to pull a face.
"But Mummy!" Nymphadora whines, face contorted in defiance, "I'm an Auror, I send all the Death Eaters to Azkaban!"
Her mother manages a small smile, but secretly struggles with the notion that her precious little daughter has such plans at the tender age of five. Of course, she tells herself firmly as she gets to her feet and guides Nymphadora out of the room and upstairs towards bed, it is all just a game to the girl, nothing to dwell upon at all. But it is indeed one thing for this mother to tell herself this, and another thing entirely for her to follow her own good advice. She is Andromeda Tonks, formally Black, and the mere mention of Death Eaters and Azkaban cause her more pain than she would dare admit to anybody, not even her husband, Ted. Yes, these subjects hit a little too close to home for Andromeda, the middle of the three sisters Black. And so when she goes to bed that night and sleep engulfs her, she can't help but have sweet yet terribly bitter dreams.
The hall is crowded with children sitting at four long tables, all of their eyes fixed on her and the rest of the new students as they wait for their name to be called. A tall witch wearing emerald green robes and a tall pointed hat stands with a long roll of parchment on which her name is written in delicate flowing script amongst the names of her peers. It is not long before her name is called, Black, Andromeda, and she makes her way up to the raised platform to sit on the stall. From here she can see the students of Hogwarts eying her with interest and she searches for a familiar face. She finds one. Sitting amongst the students with silver and green ties is a slender, pale girl with long black hair, a broad grin spread across her thin face. Andromeda recognizes Bellatrix, the eldest of the three sisters Black, and feels instantly calmed, if not excited as her big sister gives her the thumbs up. Bellatrix disappears from view suddenly, as does the rest of the Great Hall as she feels the Sorting Hat being placed on her head, slipping down over her eyes. It hmms and wonders in her ear for what seems to be an eternity of hat-induced darkness, before announcing to her and the rest of the people present that she belongs in Slytherin House. The light of the hall dazzles her for a brief moment when the hat is plucked from her head and the cheering of the Slytherins makes her jump slightly, but Andromeda makes her way to join the rest of her House, beaming at the sight of Bellatrix bouncing up and down in her seat, whooping louder than anybody else. When Andromeda reaches her, Bellatrix hugs her fiercely and tells her that their parents will be proud, as is she.
The eldest of the three sisters Black is a girl driven by family pride.
She lies sprawled on her bed with her nose buried in a book. The peace and tranquility of her bedroom is disturbed by the slap of bare feet on hard floor, the door is flung open to reveal a girl with sleek blonde hair that appears almost white in the bright sunlight that pours through the elaborate bedroom window. Narcissa, the youngest of the three sisters Black bounds across the room and launches herself onto her older sister's bed, extracting a shriek of surprise from the darker haired girl. Narcissa thrusts her hand into the pocket of her fluffy white dressing gown and pulls out an envelope. She shakes it up and down in front of Andromeda, and both girls hear something loose sliding against the parchment inside. Seeing her name written in neat lettering on the front of the envelope Andromeda snatches the letter from her sister, heart pounding with excitement. Andromeda tears the envelope open hurriedly and, taking a deep breath, upturns it, hand outstretched. Something cool and metallic lands into her waiting palm. Narcissa grins down at the shiny dark green badge with "Prefect" stamped across it in silver. Andromeda's own grin is in danger of cracking her face in two as she yells for her sister Bellatrix. The raven haired girl bolts from her room across the landing to join her younger sisters, smiling at how Andromeda looks ready to burst with pride. She pins her new badge on her dressing gown, and runs her fingers across the cool shiny surface every few minutes, as if to check it is still there.
The middle of the three sisters Black is a girl driven by personal pride.
She grits her teeth and stares back at her sisters with unblinking eyes. Bellatrix has shouted herself hoarse, but Andromeda has not heard a word. Instead she clutches the small scrap of parchment, onto which Ted has scribbled a note, to her chest and holds her head high. For a brief moment there is silence, broken only by the soft crackling of the fire in the grate beside them. Bellatrix shoots her sister one last glare before turning on her heel and stalking off towards the door. As she flings it open, the hinges creaking in protest, Bellatrix beckons to her youngest sister. Narcissa spares only the briefest of glances at Andromeda before hurrying after her fuming sibling.
The youngest of the three sisters Black is a girl driven by pride in her eldest sister.
Yes, Andromeda recalls when she awakens in the morning with sun streaming through her window, all three sisters were driven by pride. But in the end it was pride that tore them apart.