A foul smell entered the Slytherin common room as there was a slam of fury from the entryway to the room. Andromeda and Narcissa looked up to see their seventeen year old sister storming past in a flash of tangled wet black curls.
"Oh dear merlin what is that stink?" Narcissa wrinkled her nose in disgust as with a small sigh Andromeda rose from the comfort of her fireside armchair.
"Wait here, I'll go see what on earth she's done this time." Andromeda Black walked towards the dorm room of her elder sister. The vinegary smell was so potent she was sure she was going to choke as she knocked on the door to her sisters room.
"Go away!" Bellatrix snarled from the other side of the door.
Any other witch or wizard would have been called brave or near enough idiotic for trying to get near Bellatrix Black when she was in such a mood, but her sister never listened to her threats and warnings. As she entered the room she gagged at the smell as she covered her nose.
"Merlin!" Andromeda coughed "What in Merlins name have you been doing?"
Bella turned to glare at her sister. She was now only half dressed; her sodden robes were in a heap on the floor as she pulled her dressing gown on over her underwear. "I told you to go away." She hissed.
With a small sigh Andromeda walked over to her sister, she took her hand and took her over to the bed. Without a word she stood in front of her sister as she slowly but surely tried to remove any traces of vinegar from her hair with her wand.
"... I hit the wrong barrel trying to get into the Hufflepuff common room." Bella murmured.
"Why were you trying to get into the Hufflepuff common room?" Dromeda frowned as she worked on her sisters hair.
"Trying to get to Ted Tonks." Bella spat the name as if it were pure poison in her mouth "... Apparently the mudblood has a crush on you."
"What?" Andromeda balked "How do you know that?"
"Someone overheard him speaking to his fellow scum." Bella paused for a moment as she took her sisters hand in her own, looking deeply into her eyes in an almost begging fashion; this was something Andromeda was certainly not used to "Andy, you wouldn't go near such filth, would you? Promise me, I don't want to see you disowned."
Andromeda Black furrowed her brows as she studied her sister curiously for a few moments. She had known that Ted Tonks had a crush on her, he wasn't exactly an unattractive boy either ... But he was a mudblood.
"I promise." Andromeda Black spoke barely above a whisper. After a few short moments Bellatrix gave a curt nod, seemingly happy with her sisters answer. They spent most of the rest of their day trying to de-vinegar Bellatrix though the whole common room has a pungent undertone of vinegar for weeks after the incident.