Hi there. I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm still getting to grips with using this website. I noticed a small mistake in this chapter, so I'm re-uploading it. Basically, this is my first fanfiction. Any reviews would most certainly be welcome. And, just as a warning, this story does contain original characters, as friends etc. However, they don't affect anything in cannon, and as there is very little about this time period at Hogwarts, pre-Marauders, I think that I'm able to use some creative license. Read, review and enjoy!
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Andromeda began to make her way down the train towards the prefect compartment to receive her instructions, stopping every two minutes to speak with other friends and acquaintances. Despite her sister's fearsome reputation and her Slytherin status, Andromeda was fairly popular. Although shy at first, she didn't judge people by their first impressions, and as the years wore on, she found that her tactful silences, sense of humour and kind nature had earned her, not only her friends, but their respect. She was nice to people, no matter what their blood status, and this surprised most people enough to want to know her. Isabelle, and most of the other Slytherin girls could often be a bit rude to people, especially muggle-borns, which embarrassed her a little. Mostly though, they were all right, a good bunch of friends to have.
Most of her Slytherin friends had no idea how much her sister's reputation had hung over her. Most people had initially expected Andromeda to be like Bella, always in trouble for bullying first years and muggle-borns. The fear and respect, the protectiveness with which they had treated her had hurt her, made her feel embarrassed. She had proved to them that she was nothing like Bella, and now the respect she had was earned. Watching wary eleven-year-olds scuttle out of her way in the corridors because they thought she was Bellatrix and galvanised her into helping the first-years, being nice where she could. Mostly it worked. It was why she had earned the prefects badge that year, she thought. She liked to set an example.
She bumped into Catherine, a Ravenclaw, whom she was pretty good friends with. Catherine was a bit like Andromeda herself, shy and quiet, but of course, far more intelligent. Andromeda sat with her in Transfiguration, Potions and Ancient Runes, and Catherine had helped her out of more than a few tricky spots. Both confided in the other more than they did with the girls in their own houses. Catherine told Andromeda how lonely Ravenclaw could be sometimes, the pressure to do well, to be the best, the competitiveness. Andromeda told Catherine how she didn't always agree with how the Slytherins treated others, and how scared she was herself of Bellatrix. If Isabelle was her best friend, then Catherine came a very close second.
They spoke for a while, about their holidays, until Catherine was hailed by some fellow Ravenclaws, and Andromeda continued to make her way down the train. She was almost at her compartment, when a figure suddenly walked into the corridor and bumped right into her. She almost fell backwards, when a hand reached out to steady her.
"Sorry. Are you okay?" The voice was male, a mellow, pleasant voice, tinged with concern.
"I'm fine," Andromeda said, looking up to see a boy she recognised from her own year. A Hufflepuff she remembered from several of her classes. Tonks, that was his name, Ted Tonks. He was friends with Anwen, a Hufflepuff girl she was friendly with. She remembered him as a small plump boy, always laughing, with his shirt hanging out. He had changed considerably. He was now tall and strong, the fat turning to muscle, his blonde hair flopping into his blue eyes. His shirt was still hanging out though.
He smiled briefly at her, blushing, and was about to say something, when a friend called him and he walked past her. She turned to watch him go, but he didn't look back.
The whole thing had taken maybe five seconds. Yet it was enough to set her heart racing.
Andromeda shook her head. Don't be silly, said a voice in the back of her head.
She made her way to the Prefects carriage, as per the instructions on her letter. There she found out that her friend Anwen had also been made prefect, along with a boy she vaguely recognised. She sat next to her and glanced around. Rabastan Lestrange was her fellow Slytherin prefect. His brother was currently going out with her sister, and she had often noticed him watching her in the common room. There's a good catch, she thought bitterly. Your parents would approve of him. You can have a double wedding… she almost laughed out loud at this thought. She disliked him, he often showed a tendency towards cruelty to muggle-borns, along with his brother.
Their Head Boy and Girl gave them instructions to patrol the corridors, as well as handing them a rota for Prefect duty for the autumn term. Andromeda sighed. From what she'd heard, this year was going to be hard enough work without extra duties. Oh well, she thought. Who said life was easy? Andromeda spent the first hour of the lengthy journey wandering up and down corridors with Anwen, before entering her compartment at last.
"What took you so long?" demanded Isabelle.
"Prefect duty," Andromeda answered, and the conversation flowed back to the various pastimes of her fellow students during the summer. Rosalia, a slim blonde, was in the middle of a description of her holiday in Egypt, visiting the tombs and such. Next it was Sapphire, a half French girl, who had spent the entire holiday on a shopping spree in the wizarding streets in Paris, spending her great-grandmothers legacy. The compartment was subjected to a full detail description of Sapphire's new designer dress robes, and the designer perfume that she had bought. "They're the perfect colour! They bring out the colour of my eyes. I did so need another pair, my last were so out of fashion it's ridiculous… It's simply impossible to find it here! I should think I'm the only person in Hogwarts to own a bottle! It is wonderful, tres chic, but of course not my most expensive."
Honestly. Sapphire was not Andromeda's favourite person in the whole wide world. All right in small doses, but a total snob. Valued everything at how much money it was worth.
"How was your summer then, Dromeda?" asked Celia, a tall black girl with braided hair.
Andromeda told them about visiting her Aunt Walburga, in her large house on Grimmauld place, her visit to Diagon Alley where she bumped into a member of her favourite band, Eye of Newt. Her friends seemed more interested in this, begging her for details. She didn't tell them how she and Sirius had spent two weeks hiding Bella's wand, blaming it on Kreacher the house elf, or her argument with Bella that had left her with boils erupting from her face, or how the Daily Prophet article about a susceptibly magic-related muggle killing and her parent's complete lack of sympathy had made her feel angry about how wizards treated muggles and caused her to argue with her parents.
And so the journey continued. Andromeda sat with Onyx in her lap, stroking her soft ears while the cat purred contentedly. She picked up a copy of the Witch Weekly that someone had left on a seat, and began to read. At about midday, rain began lashing against the windows as the train weaved its way through valleys and alongside rivers. The lunch trolley came and went, and the Slytherin girls shared a feast of sweets and cakes. After a few hours Andromeda did another quick patrol of the corridors, which, like the rest of the journey, was uneventful.
As the sky outside darkened like a spreading bruise, more and more bored first and second years started mucking around outside the compartment, getting more and more rowdy and irritating. Andromeda was able to use her new authority as prefect to stop them. Finally, the announcement echoed through the train, instructing them to change into their roes. Andromeda pulled her robes on, stowed Onyx back in her cat basket and sat back down waiting for the train to stop.
The night was chilly but fresh as Andromeda stepped out onto the platform at Hogsmede Station. Despite the rain throughout the journey, the sky was clear, the, deep blue, the stars twinkling like diamonds on a blanket of silk. Andromeda followed the crowd to where the large carriages, apparently moving on their own. Catherine had told her that great black horses pulled them, and were called thestrals. Catherine could see them, having been with her mother when she died of a muggle disease. Andromeda was glad she couldn't see them. She followed Celia into a carriage and sat as it carried her and her friends to the great gates of Hogwarts.
