Tragic Twists
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
A/N: This for the Hogwarts Online Prompt of the Day for the 19th and the Woman in Black challenge.
The night sky was black as a raven's wing and seemed as deep as the endless oceans; Andromeda had always heard of but never seen. Silently, she quickly found the stars in the sky that formed her favorite constellations, constellations that were said to be the Greek gods themselves sealed into the sky far away from the sinful Earth below.
She could see the shining, magnificent orb and all the little sparkles of the stars without the hindrance of a giant mansion or the city lights. Where Andromeda was all that was there were the peaceful and tranquil fields and the shifting trees, enduring a restless wind. Andromeda surveyed the quiet fields and the life she was resigned to now and had been for decades now. She still had trouble believing this was real. She had left her big family manor with her sisters, but not quite as how she pictured it before.
She had imagined a horrible and bleak existence as a pureblood, aristocratic wife with no say in anything if it displeased her husband. Her father even told her love wasn't important when it came to marriages like hers. All that mattered was the blood purity.
It made Andromeda laugh, thinking about her father for she wondered how he would feel seeing her now. She was wrapped in the world he told her was too dirty to touch. A world that was barely human, if not human at all, at least to his beliefs.
She knew the truth though, she knew that despite what her upbringing had told her, that no human, or witch could be considered lower than another especially based on blood purity and their ancestors.
Even if it cost her a family to follow what she knew to be the truth and love.
She twirled the ring on her left hand, she never thought this would happen, a fairytale come true with her lovely prince in tattered armor and a heart of pure gold. She had seen him at Hogwarts and after his persistent chase, she gave way to his advances and let herself see a different side of the world. She had sold so many things to be with him, but they were all worth it (at least she thought so)…
They both had held secrets together and they sold them to the public, throwing them to the wind so they wouldn't have to feel so ashamed, so wrong.
However, the secrets that they sold were never known at that time, for disaster had struck first with Bellatrix's initiation to the Death Eaters, Sirius's abandonment of his family, and Ted's grandmother had fallen with cancer.
The love they had, the love they had for each other that burned so bright, they had to let go. Ted had to leave school for a few weeks and Andromeda hadn't been sure of what she was doing. Could she hurt her family? Could she leave all she had behind as her family needed her, as Narcissa cried her fears to her?
Their love could have been left and finished in their school days but they found a way to work, to be the glue that held the other together. Andromeda still can't fathom how they did it, even as she stares at the orb, feeling the moon's gentle white rays dance on her wild ebony tresses and her alabaster skin. She wonders if her love would ever end for him and she doubts it. Something burning in her, that dashes her cheeks with scarlet when she talks to him, simply wouldn't allow that.
No, she won't ever quit loving Ted and she knows what her daughter, her baby girl that grew so much in the span of minutes, feels towards her werewolf. The sleek black dress holds tight to her moving form as she walks back into the house. She couldn't breathe before but now she feels like she can as she tells Remus he can marry her daughter, even if she thinks she is dooming her to never ending pain. Now she wonders if this is how her parents felt when she left home, when they told Bellatrix and Narcissa to not kill her as they should have, but rather to leave her alone.
For the pain she feels at certain days (birthdays and holidays) always swallows her whole and then spits her out, bleeding and broken, wishing for a better world.
Now all Andromeda feels as she watches Remus leave, even as Ted holds her hand and holds her so tight (so she won't crumble to pieces), is that she has marked Nymphadora for death (whether physical or otherwise she doesn't know). For her baby girl has followed the path of her mother's, a road of love that is not accepted and a road of hardships and sacrifices. The road will be more different than ever for the War; will bring their small and almost tragic family face to face once more.
She knew she needed to wear black today; she should have listened to her gut and never got out of bed.
"I know we will all be okay." Ted tries to soothe her but all she keeps on thinking is that fate has one more horrific twist in store for her and that it might just cost her the only thing that keeps her together, her family.
R and R! Please don't favorite without reviewing!