Hi everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews :) They were really encouraging. I have another chapter coming up after this one to finish it up. This one feels a bit rushed, so I'll probably return to it later and clean it up once I've had some time to ponder it. As always, feedback is welcome.
Chapter 2
Steady, fearless footsteps started down the third floor hallway. Andromeda steeled herself against the apprehension growing in her heart. There was no turning back now. She wasn't surprised to see who finally drew level with the room and faced her, heavily-lidded eyes flashing with the thrill of the moment and wand raised slightly, though not directly at Andromeda.
A beat. "Well if it isn't Andromeda Tonks," the woman sneered. Andromeda's name sounded like something left to rot in a dark alley in that voice. "I see you've aged."
"It appears I'm not the only one." The retort fell from her lips naturally, as if they had not had over two decades of silence between them. "Azkaban did not treat you well, it seems."
"Azkaban doesn't treat anyone well."
"You know," Andromeda smirked, "I think that might be the point." The corners of Bellatrix's mouth seemed to twitch, but it happened so quickly that Andromeda might have imagined it.
The raven-haired predator leaned against the wall, relaxing her wand arm slightly and glancing around the room. "I seem to recall warning you that if you ever returned to this place, that you would not leave with your life. Have you come to surrender that which you don't deserve?" Her dark, roving eyes returned to her sister, eyebrows raised in question.
Andromeda's grip on her wand tightened, though she did not move to attack. "What are you doing here, Bellatrix?" she asked suddenly.
"What are you doing here?" Bellatrix spat. "Miss being a respectable witch? Have you finally realized the error of your ways and come back to reclaim your dignity?"
Andromeda ignored her and said simply, "I asked you first."
She shook her head slightly and snorted. "You tripped the alarm. Didn't even think to check for spells before barging in here, did you? You're still a fool."
Silence. Andromeda didn't feel much like playing Bellatrix's games. She got what she came for, and she intended to leave before this escalated further. She knew Bellatrix would only remain this calm for the briefest of times before her hatred would overcome her. Better to make this quick and at least try to be civil.
"You're turn. What are you doing here?" Bellatrix moved slightly, fixing Andromeda with a piercing gaze that seemed to chill her to the bone. It was strange to see her in person now, after all those years. Strange to actually feel the insanity radiating off of her. To be succumbed to that cruel glint in her eyes, so augmented after years of service to the Dark Lord.
Andromeda sighed and glanced at Bellatrix's wand. Noticing, she placed her hands in her pockets, then slowly removed them, empty. In response, Andromeda carefully placed her own wand back in her pocket and returned the gesture. She then reached into her inner pocket and removed the small wooden box she has retrieved from the rubble moments before.
"What's in it?"
She slowly lifted the lid. Within was a miniature carving of a howling dog. Bellatrix arched one eyebrow.
"Sirius gave it to me the Christmas before I left. I went in such a hurry that I forgot it," she whispered, replacing the lid and slipping the box back into her pocket, right beside her wand. She left her hand there.
Bellatrix snorted. "You returned for petty sentimentality? For that blood traitor filth?"
"He looked up to me," she shrugged, once again ignoring Bellatrix's boorishness. "It felt right to return for it."
Her sister rolled her eyes again and replied, "He put up a good fight, I must say." Her black eyes sparkled malevolently. With a twisted grin and a tone to match she continued, "Better than dear, sweet Nymphadora. She's quick, I'll give her that. But never have I fought someone who fell down the stairs mid-duel. Pathetic really." She cackled maniacally.
Andromeda struggled to suppress the great rush of anger that swelled up at the taunt. Her voice shook with emotion as she said, "You don't talk about my Nymphadora."
Bellatrix's laugh echoed in the room.
"You still have nothing better to do than insult my family?" Andromeda screeched.
"You're the one who chose that pitiful little family over your own flesh and blood!" Bellatrix's wand was out now. "This is what comes out of breeding with filthy mudbloods. A poor, pathetic husband who cowers at home and a daughter who can't stand up straight long enough to finish a duel! I've never seen such foul corruption of our bloodline! You make me sick. I will kill that abomination of a child you call Nymphadora. I swear it!"
Andromeda's wand was pointed straight at her sister's heart. Her blood boiled with hatred in a way she hadn't felt since the night she ran away, Bellatrix's spiteful screams and curses chasing her into the dark and open street. Words spilled from her mouth before she thought to control them. Hatred spewing from her uncontrollably bottled up for decades and stirred up once more by the murder of her beloved cousin. "You were my family until you bought into that sick idea of blood purity when you fail to see that it doesn't matter! I would gladly have called you my sister until the end of my days, but you became a maniac! You've killed our family. Our cousin! And now you threaten to kill my daughter. You will not touch Nymphadora. You'll never touch any of my family again. Expulso!"
