Chapter 8
As November ended and December began, the castle was covered in a blanket of snow. It looked like a picturesque Christmas castle and Andromeda couldn't help but love the love of it. It looked so pretty like this. The only drawback was it was freezing outside. Andromeda had to clutch her robes around her tightly and wear two of her Slytherin scarves every time she had a Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures lesson. Her cheeks were permanently pink from the wind, and she never left the common room without a jacket.
The workload had also increased dramatically, and so now the library was filled with students and Andromeda had to get there early to make sure she always got a table. And even still, she sometimes had to share it with the Ravenclaws.
The only good part of the winter was how beautifully the castle was decorated. Across every archway, was garland, and every corners had a Christmas tree. Every corner you rounded was decorated with some sort of cheerful christmas tradition. But the reminder of Christmas, reminded Andromeda that soon she would going to back to Black Manor.
It wasn't that Andromeda didn't like going home, but whenever she did she was constantly chastised by her mother. She sighed knowing that this was unavoidable, and she wouldn't think about it until she had to get on the Hogwarts Express.
Andromeda was walking back to the common room from the library one night when she heard something in an open classroom. She was on the third floor and she had been so tired from the hours she had spent reading through her textbooks, she almost hadn't heard it, but she definitely had. It was a crash and she thought she heard a scream.
She walked quickly to the classroom and dropped her books when she saw what was waiting for here in there.
Three Slytherin boys and one girl, all in fourth year had their wands pointed at two first years. They were both muggleborn and they had cuts and scratches all over their faces, evidence from the hexes they had endured. The two of them looked terrified.
Anger rose in Andromeda.
" What the hell do you think you're doing?" Andromeda demanded of the Slytherins, her hands on her hips.
The three of them looked up at her and lowered their wands, a quick look of fear on their faces. Andromeda was older than them and a Black. They respected her, and feared her.
" We were hexing mudbloods" the girl said bravely.
" Are you bloody insane?" Andromeda asked her, " or just completely vile?"
She shook her head angrily, " Get out of here, now" she ordered them angrily.
" But-" one of the boys started.
" NOW" Andromeda ordered angrily, and walked over to the muggleborns who were crouched in the corner. She helped them to their feet and the four Slytherins scowled and left the room.
" Are you both okay?" Andromeda asked the girls helping them to their feet.
They nodded weakly, still looking terrified.
" Let's bring you to the Hospital wing, okay?" Andromeda told them. They nodded and followed her to the Hospital wing.
" Your Narcissa Black's sister right?" one of them asked her.
Andromeda nodded. The girl looked confused but didn't say anything. Andromeda walked them to the Hospital wing and made sure they went it. She left after Madam Pompfrey started looking after them. They were safe with her, so Andromeda made her way back to the Slytherin common room, not realizing the trouble she had caused for herself.
" Andromeda" Bellatrix said harshly the next evening after dinner, " I need to talk to you. Now."
Andromeda had been sitting on a couch in the Common Room with her friends when Bellatrix had stormed over, wearing an expression of anger.
Andromeda looked at the expression on her face and followed her out of the Common Room without question, she didn't argue with Bellatrix when she was mad.
" What's wrong, Bella?" Andromeda asked when they were standing outside of the common room.
Bellatrix looked enraged, " Why are people telling me that my little sister stopped some fourth year Slytherins from hexing a pair of mudbloods yesterday?" she demanded.
Andromeda felt her eyes widen. She hadn't thought of how mad Bellatrix would be if she had found out about it. She had just reacted in the moment.
" Do you have any idea how this makes us look, Andromeda?" Bellatrix demanded.
Andromeda shook her head. She hated when Bella scolded her like this.
" Like a bunch of bloody bloodtraitors that's what!" Bellatrix shouted so loudly at Andromeda, that she flinched thinking Bella might slap her.
Bellatrix sighed, " What were you thinking Andromeda? It's like sometimes you aren't even a Black. Narcissa would have known better than that and she's a first year!"
Andromeda recoiled at Bellatrix's words. She already felt enough like she wasn't a Black without Bellatrix reminding her.
" You need to sort out your priorities" Bellatrix snapped at her and disappeared back into the Common Room.
Andromeda was left in the hallway feeling raw. Bellatrix had just vocalized everything she had been feeling for months and it was becoming too much for her. Tears were starting to form in her eyes and she didn't want to cry here. Even though she didn't have to patrol for another fifteen minutes, she went up to the fourth floor and sat down, leaning against the wall.
She felt horrible. She was stuck in this middle ground between wanting to make her family proud and not giving a damn what they said and it was making her crazy. She didn't want to disappoint them, that had always been her biggest fear, and now here she was. She let the tears pour down her face.
" Andromeda?" Ted asked walking down the hallway. He was ten minutes early and Andromeda wished she had gone anywhere other than here. Ted was the last person she wanted to be crying in front of.
" Andromeda, what's wrong?" he asked crouching down next to her.
She shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes, " Nothing".
Ted gave her a reproachful look and sat down, " Tell me"
Andromeda bit her lip as more tears began to fall down her face. She couldn't stop them and she wasn't even trying to anymore. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, crying hard.
" Im...disappointing...everyone" she sniffed, " I ...can't..do...anything...right...I'm...a...bad...Slytherin..
..and...Bella's….mad...at...me" she sobbed and buried her head on her knees.
" You're not a disappointment" Ted told her sternly, " honestly Andromeda, no one can call you a disappointment. You're about as far from that as it gets. And as for being a bad Slytherin? Who cares. If being a good person, means you're a bad Slytherin, then I say embrace it. You're one of the only ones giving Slytherin a good name"
Andromeda looked up at him and sniffed, wiping her eyes on the sleeves of her robes.
" Now" Ted said looking at her, " Is Bellatrix mad about you saved those muggleborns?" he asked her.
Andromeda nodded and tears fell from her eyes.
" Because all of Hufflepuff heard about that" Ted told her, " and they were impressed with you. I heard Macmillan actually say 'maybe all Slytherins aren't bad', and me? I thought it was extremely brave of you. Who gives a damn what Bellatrix thinks of you?"
Andromeda sniffed quietly again, " I don't want her to hate me, she's my sister."
Ted hesitated and then wrapped an arm around Andromeda's shoulder.
" She doesn't hate you" he told her. Andromeda let her head drop on Ted's shoulder and squeezed her eyes shut.
" I'm sorry for unloading all of this on you" she said after a minute, leaning back up and wiping her eyes. Ted moved his arm and shook his head, " You weren't".
He got to his feet and helped her up. Andromeda hesitated for a second, and then hugged him. Ted was slightly shocked, but hugged her back.
They broke apart and Andromeda wiped her eyes, " Thank you"
Ted nodded and they walked off finishing their patrols.
