A/N
School: Mahoutokoro
Year: 6
Round 5 Theme: Artemis
Prompts: My main prompt- 5. Andromeda Black
Secondary Prompts-7. "Hero," she said softly. "Vengeance and glory are the ways of the Greeks and the Trojans."
A/U where Andromeda is born in 1951, Bellatrix in 1953, and Narcissa in 1955. Andromeda is obviously our main character, and the line of dialogue is incorporated when Andromeda saves her best friend's life and he calls her his hero, but she rejects the title. The theme is incorporated through inferred parallels between this story's storyline and the myth of Orion and Artemis. I had fun with this story, and I also had fun putting in some little foreshadowing easter eggs to the actual series. The flashback takes place in 1960, the actual story in 1971.
This is actually SUCH a hot mess, but I tried. Sorry for putting you through whatever this thing I cobbled together is...
Word Count: 2870
Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa. That was the way it had been, was, and always would be. At least, that was the fragile promise that remained ingrained in Andromeda Black's memory. She was twenty now, and still returned to the fateful summer day in the meadow, over a decade in the past.
"Andromeda, wait up," a spry girl with a disheveled mess of black curls gasped, attempting to catch her breath. "You're so mean for making us walk this far." Bella was staggering through haphazardly trampled blades of grass and weeds, her younger sister clinging to her back for dear life. Andromeda whipped her head around, piercing brown eyes focusing on her sisters stumbling and giggling. Almost immediately, her gaze softened and the corners of her mouth curved into a familiar smile.
"C'mere, Cissy." She knelt on one knee and beckoned for the child to take her small hand. "We're almost there, guys!" The clouds shifted above the trio as they clambered towards a wizened tree atop a small hill. Winded and nearly out of breath, their aching legs were more than ecstatic to sink into soft flowers and earth. Andromeda reached for the small fingers of her siblings, her dearest friends, and clasped them tightly.
"I know you're wondering why I made you walk out here," she shot a pointed look at Bellatrix. "And complaining about it." Narcissa tried to suppress a timid giggle. "I wanted to make a vow." The younger children sitting cross-legged on either side of their sister started, and began to inch away. "Not an Unbreakable Vow, you dimwits! Just a normal one, like a promise. Neither of us will ever make an Unbreakable Vow, will we?" Bellatrix shrugged submissively, and Narcissa frightfully shook her head, nervously tugging a stray blonde wisp.
"What do you want to vow, Andy?" Bella giggled, shifting her weight to bump Andromeda's shoulder with her own.
"First off, never call me Andy. It's not dignified," the older sister reprimanded. "Okay, so we're best friends, right?" Narcissa and Bella nodded fervently, inching closer to the brunette. "And we're going to stay that way for life, and nothing can ever come between us, because that's how much I love you two."
"Alright, no more sappiness, what do you want us to vow?!" Bella cried, squirming and bouncing anxiously. The older girl tossed her hair over one shoulder, leaning in to examine her companions.
"No one will ever come between us. Especially not boys." She grabbed the pale hands to her right and left and shook them three times, laughing at Bella's disgusted expression.
"But boys are so vulgar!" the middle sister exclaimed. Narcissa chuckled, but both sisters turned on her in an instant. "Why, Cissy, you're only five, you wouldn't understand!" Bella claimed.
"Bella, you're only seven!" Andromeda cackled, falling back onto the grass in a fit of hysterics. After regaining her composure, she propped herself up on one thin wrist, pensively gazing into the blue and black eyes sitting before her. "But I'm serious. Let's never let boys change our lives, or this," she gestured to their cozy position in the lush meadow. "I know we're not even ten yet, but we go to Hogwarts in just a few years and we're going to stay best friends. Promise?"
"Promise," they echoed, squeezing her hands and standing up, tugging her out of the soft blades of grass and back towards home.
Andromeda Black pinched the edge of a sock between two nimble fingers, folding and crimping until it fit perfectly with its pair. She proceeded to stack the socks on top of a small pile in a dresser drawer. Thundering feet sounded several feet down the hallway, and she sighed, awaiting the arrival of a frenetic Bellatrix.
"Andyyyyy, I can't find Narcissa and she swore she'd be home at least two hours ago. I don't have plans tonight, so both of you better be free," she panted, propping herself up in the doorway. "Why aren't you using magic for your, what, sock folding?" The edges of her mouth pulled up in a twisted grin, and with a flick of her walnut wand, every unfolded sock in Andromeda's room was levitating and sloppily folding. "There, all finished," she proclaimed, dumping them in a drawer and caressing her wand.
"Don't call me Andy, and you did it completely wrong," Andromeda muttered, whipping out her own wand and performing a quick spell that set the folded pairs right. "And anyway, I thought I'd catch up on some light reading tonight."
"You call this light reading?" Bella exclaimed, striding to a nightstand holding a very large, extremely thick-paged book of Greek mythology. "You're such a bore, I'm just trying to be nice. Now, if Narcissa would get home already, we could go out on the town, maybe pick up farm boys." This ludicrous proposition earned her an extreme glare from her elder sister. "Only joking, I mean, no boys," she rolled her eyes before beckoning for Andromeda to follow her to the first floor.
As they headed down the winding staircase, a sheet of blonde hair disappeared around the corner to the mudroom. Andromeda cried out to Narcissa, who appeared to have just arrived.
"Cissy, where have you been? You have to start packing for Hogwarts, you go back in two weeks," but Narcissa was not listening, instead dreamily pacing with a grin broad enough to light the night sky. "Narcissa Black, what have you been doing?"
"Isn't it obvious, Andy," Bellatrix drawled, sinking into a kitchen chair before grabbing her younger sister's arm and pulling her to eye level. "She was with a boy." Narcissa flushed scarlet and furiously shook her head, but trembled under the glares of her older sisters.
"I was, but-he's not changing anything, it's fine, isn't it?" Her voice broke, her eyes flicking back and forth between the wood floors and the dark eyes above her.
"But Cissy, the vow! Also, we know nothing about this boy. Mummy and Dad know nothing," Andromeda whispered. "Just tell us something."
"His name is Lucius Malfoy, and-he's Bella's age, and-we met last year and he started courting me-and I've been meeting him all summer, but today I couldn't floo like I usually do and I had to walk. I'm sorry, but I'm falling in love with him, and I don't think the vow is as relevant as it was when we were little children," Narcissa murmured, every syllable growing stronger. "I think I should be allowed to see him."
"HA!" A loud, sharp guffaw sounded from behind Narcissa's back. "I mean, Merlin's pants, I've seen guys for the last several years. I'm out of school now, why waste all my time here at home like you?" She pointed at Andromeda, who turned beet-red with offense. "Let her have fun with this Lucius. I knew him at school, they're perfect for each other."
"But-we promised-" Andromeda struggled to form the words.
"To uphold a vow we made at the ages of five, seven, and nine? It's been eleven years, Andy," she droned. "Also, what about Lewis? Does he factor into your 'light reading' plans for tonight?"
"Lewis is different, and you know it. He's my best friend," the oldest sister proclaimed. "And Narcissa, I don't think you seeing this Lucius fellow is a good idea. I'm going for a walk, don't wait up." She gathered her brown mass of gentle curls into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, striding out the door with the enormous book she'd somehow managed to bring downstair unbeknownst to her sisters.
"Bella, I can't stop seeing Lucius," the blonde remaining in the kitchen cried, grabbing her sister's long-fingered hand.
"And I can't keep telling guys to lay off," her sister giggled. "Why should you and Andy get all the fun? I actually have a plan, though." Bellatrix paused to run her other hand through a tangled mass of black curly hair. "We should trick her into believing Lewis loves her. It's foolproof, either she falls for him and realizes boys are great, or she gets rid of his sorry-"
"Bellatrix!"
"Sorry, killjoy. Maybe she'll get rid of him, maybe she won't. Maybe then she'll see that guys aren't going to bring us apart more than they already have."
Andromeda strode through the lilacs and poppies at her feet, strolling through the meadow where she had made a sacred promise a decade ago. A tall, slim figure waited on top of the hill, flipping absently through a gigantic book mirroring her own.
'Lewis!" She called, inciting a pleased laugh from her best friend. She gathered her skirts in one hand and attempted to run up the hill, instead tripping over her own feet as she tried to hold her book. As the sun and clouds began to blend into hues of orange and scarlet, she sat on a gentle mound of dirt and leaves. "I was just reading last week's chapter and wanted to know what you thought."
"Of course, Andromeda. It was so captivating…" He continued to speak, and she joined the conversation. The two put their heads together, and Andromeda considered why her sisters objected to their friendship. Did they believe she loved him? She did love him, yes, but as a best friend loves: platonically, yet all-consumingly. They lost track of time, sitting there in the idyllic meadow and discussing everything from Greek myths to siblings and school (he was a Muggle-born). It wasn't until Andromeda glanced at the stars in the night sky that she realized they had been in the meadow for hours, and it was far too late to be out alone.
"Lewis, I have to leave. My sisters are being difficult, but I don't want to scare them by walking in the door at some ungodly hour."
"When will I see you again?" He questioned, sparkling eyes gazing at the girl he had called his best friend for nearly three years.
"Tomorrow," she said, a smile gracing her lips as she turned to head down the hill.
"Tomorrow," he echoed.
"Bella, Cissy," a dark figure called as she opened the door. "Are you two still awake?" Her footsteps were intentionally light and tentative, testing to see if her sisters still sat in the kitchen.
"And where have you been, Andy?" A sinister, calculating tone emitted from the dark dining area. "Cavorting around with a boy now, are we?"
"Bella, come out from there. You too, Cissy," Andromeda scolded, and both of the girls hidden in the pitch-black room obliged. "Lewis is my best friend. Nothing more, nothing less."
"But, Andromeda," Cissy murmured. "The vow is so we remain best friends, and I think the one to break it was you. I like Lucius a lot, but I don't want to stop being friends."
"But-" Bellatrix cut in sharply. "We know someone who does want to stop being friends." Andromeda drew in a fierce breath of air, about to defend herself when Narcissa reached for her hand.
"Lewis fancies you," she whispered, looking to Bellatrix for guidance. Her older sister's face turned as white as a freshly laundered linen sheet, pale and smooth and soft and filled with tumultuous emotions.
"C'mon Andy, the bloke spends all his time with you! He's going to start courting you, and you'll have to see if you make good on that promise we all made years ago. Can we just call it off? This 'eternal purity maiden' thing we've got going on is ridiculous. I have men from school lining up for me. Narcissa has a great guy from a respected family ready to propose the minute she walks out of Hogwarts in two years. What's it going to be? Limit our future so we can try to force this bond, or be happy?" Bella seemed shocked at her own speech, and chose to stride out of the room instead of continuing her ultimatum.
"She's right, you know," Narcissa mumbled. "I think it's time for the vow to be over, because you can't just restrict our lives because you want us to stay friends. Or yours." With that, she released Andromeda's hand and headed upstairs, turning back to gaze at her shell-shocked sister. Her face was framed in a halo of pale hair in the light, and her blue eyes seemed to read Andromeda's mind. Unspoken words hovered in the dimly lit air between them, but in the end, the blonde spun on her heel to ascend the staircase.
Andromeda staggered to a chair and crumpled into the soft cushion, shoulders shaking without sobs. She just wanted to be friends with her sisters forever, and she knew men would eventually come into their lives and change their priorities. However, she had been content remaining selfish and serving her interests. And now, her best friend loved her. Everything was crashing down around her, and instead of having an unbreakable bond with her sisters, their friendship was crumbling at the seams.
The next day, Andromeda stood in the meadow awaiting Lewis. Nothing had changed, yet at the same time, everything was different. Birds chirped as if their songs would never be interrupted, clouds shifted as though they would never be cut away by rays of the sun. She drummed her fingers nervously on the cover of her mythology book, fidgeting in her seat as she waited for Lewis. Her friend, Lewis. Not her lover.
"Morning, Andromeda!" A voice came from behind her, full of cheer and excitement. "How was the chapter from last night?"
"I didn't have time to read it," which was true, she had worried all night instead of reading. "Can I catch up now?" He smiled and nodded, which was infuriating in itself. She couldn't look at him anymore, couldn't think about anything but the sad possibility of their friendship's demise.
"If you don't mind, I had a very strange dream last night," he chuckled, scooting closer to her perch on a small mound of soil. "I was sitting here, talking to you, when a bee stung my neck. I felt the pain as though it was real. I'm just glad it didn't truly take place because I'm incredibly allergic." As he spoke, Andromeda's eyes were drawn to a tiny insect crawling on the collar of his shirt. It wasn't...no, it was. A bee.
"Lewis-" But she was too late. The bee embedded its stinger into the side of her friend's neck and buzzed away, leaving no trace but a miniscule dot of blood. Blood was draining from his face, life was leaving his eyes, and reason was leaving her mind. Making sure his eyes were closed, Andromeda summoned every bit of magical education she had and cast a nonverbal healing spell. Usually, Bella was the expert at spells like this, but this time, the magic succeeded and Lewis began to breathe normally once more.
"Andromeda…" He gasped, his eyes fluttering open. "You are a hero, my friend."
"Hero," she said softly. "Vengeance and glory are the ways of the Greeks and the Trojans. Such is demonstrated in our book. I am no hero. I don't want that title. No glory, no battles, no romantic climax. I only want to be your best friend, nothing more, nothing less." Her voice began to crack, and he pushed himself to a more comfortable position.
"Whatever are you rambling about?" He questioned, confusion apparent in every twitch of his face.
"We can't be more than friends, Lewis. I don't even know if we can be that anymore. I love you, but I love my family more, and we promised-" she couldn't say that anymore, could she? "No, I promised." Without finishing her sentence, she picked up her book, gathered her skirts, and ran away, leaving a befuddled Lewis with tears in her eyes.
The following week, Andromeda finally stepped out of her room, where she had been reading and sleeping obsessively to erase the events from her mind. Narcissa and Bella attempted to apologize for pushing her, the former feeling incredibly guilty and the latter relieved yet somewhat remorseful. But still, Narcissa persisted with Lucius, and Bellatrix promised dates to her admirers, and no attempt was made to uphold a silly, selfish promise made eleven years ago. When a haggard Andromeda finally emerged from her chambers, exhausted and sorrowful, she was met with ashamed sisters, baffled parents, and a strange young blonde man who held Narcissa's hand like a delicate treasure.
This was the Lucius who had begun the whole mess, an ideal man who had somehow torn apart Andromeda's being in a matter of days. Of course, none of it was his fault, simply his attraction to her sister and Narcissa's desire to fall in love, Bellatrix's hunger for life. It seemed surreal, like something out of a fairy tale or an old Greek legend. As she sat down at the foot of a table, faking a smile and forcing a laugh, she did not realize her sisters had tricked her into losing her friendship. No, in fact, she only recognized that her bond with them was broken, a childhood vow shattered. Andromeda, Bellatrix, and Narcissa. That was the way it had been, but no longer was.