Chapter 10
Being back at Black manor was strange for Andromeda. The house was massive but it had a horrible tendency to feel completely empty, even when it was full. Andromeda spent most of her time alone in her room. Bellatrix was always running off doing something out of the house and Narcissa was always trailing after her mother, having conversations with her about linen colors and hairstyles. Andromeda again felt very lonely. She didn't know what to do with herself. She mostly read. In the first few days she made it through her entire collection. She had read everything before, she desperately needed a trip to Flourish and Blotts. She opened her bag and decided to unpack a little. She pulled out a handful of sweaters and something heavy fell to the floor. Andromeda bent down and picked it up. It was wrapped in a 'History of Magic' dust jacket, but it was the Television book that Ted had given her for her birthday. She picked it up and placed it on her bed, staring at it carefully. She had read it cover to cover and she hadn't been able to put it down. Now she wanted to read it again and throw it in the fire at the same time.
" Andromeda!" her mother called from downstairs. She jumped slightly. Her mother's voice was very shrill and carried through the walls. Andromeda slipped the book under her bed and walked downstairs.
Her mother was sitting in the living room, admiring a new ring that adorned her finger.
" Oh there you are Andromeda" Druella said happily, " come here"
Andromeda sat down in the chair next to her and Druella turned to face her middle child.
" As I am sure you know, we have the Lestrange holiday party in a few days and this time it is especially important that you make a good impression" she told her.
Andromeda nodded. She knew how important it was too her mother.
" So," Druella told her, " I want you to go with Bellatrix to Diagon Alley and pick out some new jewelry for the party"
Andromeda raised her eyebrow in confusion. Her mother had never favored Andromeda. In fact, if it hadn't been for the attention from Rabastan, Andromeda doubted that her mother would have even acknowledged her existence this Christmas.
" Bellatrix!" Druella called loudly up to the stairs. A minute later, Bellatrix came down the stairs looking slightly irritated. Her hair was pulled into a bun and she looked like there was nothing she wanted to besides lay in bed.
" Bellatrix, go with Andromeda to Diagon Alley and help her pick out jewelry for the Lestrange holiday party" her mother ordered her.
Bellatrix crossed her arms and eyed them both in confusion, " Why me?"
Druella gave her harsh look, " Because you have already landed a Lestrange brother, Bella" she said.
Bellatrix smiled, " Good Point, I'll go change"
Bellatrix traipsed back upstairs to change her clothes and Andromeda sat in the sitting room waiting for her.
" So Andromeda" Druella asked her, " What did you do to charm young Rabastan?"
Andromeda looked at her in confusion.
" I didn't do anything" she said avoiding her mother's glance, " he just sort of came to me"
Druella smiled at her daughter and stroked her hair.
A minute later, Bellatrix came down the stairs fully dressed and Andromeda got her coat from the rack near the front door.
Andromeda slipped into it knowing it was freezing outside.
" Let's just apparate, it's so much easier" Bellatrix told her offering her her arm.
Andromeda took it and felt the uncomfortable feeling of being shoved through a tube. Both of the girls landed on their feet in the the Leaky Cauldron. Bellatrix gave a reproachful look at the bartender before leading Andromeda to the back to the entrance of Diagon Alley.
Bellatrix seemed determined to get into the alley as quickly as possible. She pushed Andromeda quickly through the barrier and into the Alley.
Seeing as it was so close to Christmas, the alley was crowded with people doing last minute shopping. Bellatrix kept a tight grip on Andromeda's arm and led her through the crowded streets and into Knockturn Alley.
Knockturn Alley was considered a 'Dark Street' but Bellatrix and Andromeda had been going there for years. It was only really dangerous to other people. Most of the residents and shopkeepers knew and respected the Black family, so the two girls had no reservations about wandering down the street. Bellatrix didn't stop until they got to the towering shop of Borgin & Burkes.
Andromeda knew the shop was Bellatrix's favorite. She had watched her spend hours in there before, examining every single one of the dark and magical objects.
"Come on" Bellatrix said opening the door and pulling Andromeda in.
The shop was very dark and crowded. Andromeda and Bellatrix had to walk directly behind one another, so that they didn't knock anything over.
" Ah, Ms. Black and Ms, Black" Borgin said coming out from behind the counter and greeting them both, " What can I do for you? Are you buying or selling?"
" Buying" Bellatrix told him. " Andromeda here needs jewelry for the Lestrange holiday party"
Borgin grinned and revealed his cracked teeth to the girls.
" Well," he said pulling something out of the case in front, " what about this?"
The necklace he was holding was a large choker, that was scattered with Scarlet stones.
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at him, " Are you mad? She's trying to impress Pureblood Slytherins, you want her to walk around with bloody scarlet gems around her neck?" she asked him in disbelief.
Borgin thought for a moment, " Right, of course. Don't know what I was thinking, how about this one then? Very Slytherin" he asked holding up another. This necklace was a large gold necklace with several large emeralds.
" Much better" Bellatrix said taking the necklace from him and holding it up to Andromeda's neck.
" Do you like it?" she asked Andromeda.
Andromeda shrugged, she didn't much care what she wore. She was completely content letting Bellatrix pick out everything for her.
" We'll take it" Bellatrix told Borgin. He grinned happily and Bellatrix followed him to the counter, taking out a sack of their parent's gold to pay for it.
Andromeda waited for her by the door. When Bellatrix came over to her, she thrusted the package into Andromeda's arms and they left the shop.
They walked back through the Knockturn Alley and into Diagon Alley again.
" Bella, I'm going to stop in Flourish & Blotts, okay?" she told her sister.
Bellatrix nodded, " I'll be in Madam Malkins"
Andromeda left Bellatrix's side and headed towards the bookshop. It was reasonably crowded and Andromeda made her way through the crowd, scanning the shelves for some new reading material. She stopped and picked up an autobiography about a wizard who had used the Polyjuice potion to become 30 different wizards when someone came up next to her.
" Hey there Black" Hestia said appearing from beside her.
" oh, Hestia. Hi" Andromeda said.
She hadn't been expecting to see anyone from Hogwarts today. She was still in her funk from being at home again and it was making her slightly cranky.
" Don't sound so thrilled to see me" Hestia pointed out.
" Sorry" Andromeda admitted sheepishly, " It's just being home, it's made me irritable"
Hestia smiled, " Well you're welcome to the Bloodtraitor Jones house any time" she told her.
Andromeda smiled, " Thanks, Hestia"
" No problem" Hestia assured her.
Andromeda picked up another book from the shelf and looked at the back cover.
" So listen" Hestia said to her, " did something happen between you and Ted?"
The book slipped from Andromeda's hand in surprise and tumbled to the floor. Andromeda quickly scrambled to pick it up, turning slightly pink.
" What, why?" she asked her quickly.
Hestia was looking at Andromeda strangely, " Well I mentioned something about you on the train and Ted looked ready to kill me. Did you to get into a fight or something"
Andromeda found herself very confused. Why was Ted mad at her? She should be the one who was angry with him, for kissing her like that.
" I'm not really speaking to him right now" Andromeda admitted, shoving the book angrily back on the shelf.
Hestia smiled, " Oh so you did fight, what happened?" she asked.
Andromeda just shook her head, " It was nothing" she said quickly.
She didn't want to talk about it. She had been thinking about Ted far too much lately and it was making her mad. She didn't need to talk about him with Hestia too.
" Okay, fine. Don't tell me" Hestia said throwing her arms up in defeat.
" Andromeda, are you ready?" Bellatrix asked her. She stopped eyeing Hestia with a look of disgust.
" Hello Bellatrix" Hestia said, a smile playing on her lips.
Bellatrix scowled at her and said" Bloodtraitor".
Hestia just rolled her eyes at her comment, obviously unaffected.
" Come on, Andy" Bella said taking Andromeda's arm and leading her from the shop.
" You shouldn't be talking to Hestia Jones" Bellatrix warned Andromeda when they were back in the street, " she's a bloodtraitor"
Andromeda sighed and couldn't help but think she was doing a lot of things that she probably shouldn't be.
Break passed very slowly for Andromeda. She wasn't absorbed with Holiday planning like Narcissa and Bellatrix so she sat in her room letting her mind wander. She was furious how often it wandered to Ted. The effect he had on her was making her grumpier than ever.
Even though they didn't know why, the rest of her family seemed to sense that she was in a mood and avoided her at all costs.
In fact, none of them bothered her at all until Christmas Eve. It was the night of the Lestrange Holiday party and Andromeda had come back upstairs around four o'clock to find the necklace from Borgin and Burkes sitting on her bed, along with a strapless green cocktail dress.
Andromeda didn't even want to go, but she knew she didn't have a choice. The last thing she was in the mood to do was go sit in a party full of purebloods and have her mother watch her and Rabastan like a hawk. She considered faking an illness, but knew it was no use. Unless she was dying, her mother would still make her get dressed and go to this party.
So slightly irritated, Andromeda slipped on the dress, necklace and shoes and walked downstairs to where the rest of her family was.
Bellatrix and Narcissa were both standing in the living room, dressed in black and violet. It seemed the three sisters were always wearing the same three colors.
Andromeda frowned wondering why Bellatrix was always allowed to wear Black and Andromeda was forced to wear green. Perhaps it was conversion therapy, Andromeda thought. Maybe her parents thought that if they dressed her in green enough, she would embody all of the Slytherin qualities.
Druella and Cygnus black strode out into the foyer. Druella was wearing a floor length silver dress that matched the tie of her husband's dress robes.
Together, the family looked like an ad for the quality of Pureblood genes.
" Well don't you all look lovely" Cygnus said looking at all of his daughters.
" Thank you Daddy!" Narcissa said happily in the revoltingly sweet voice she always used around her parents. Andromeda had just smiled and Bellatrix had raised an eyebrow.
Druella came over to Andromeda and straightened her dress before running her hands through her hair.
" There" Druella said squeezing her daughter's shoulder, " Perfect"
Andromeda had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. The only reason her mother cared about her appearance right now was because she was desperate for the Lestrange's to approve of her. There was nothing Druella wanted more than for Andromeda to end up married to Rabastan.
" Ready?" Cygnus asked his three daughters, as both he and Druella offered the girls and arm to apparate.
" I can do it myself" Bellatrix said crossing her arms.
Narcissa took hold of her father's arm, and Druella latched herself onto Andromeda. A moment later, Andromeda landed shakily on the path leading to the Lestrange Mansion.
She turned to see the rest of her family surrounded by her.
The large mansion was towering in front of them. Andromeda knew her parent's adored the Lestrange's property and hoped that one day either Bellatrix or Andromeda would be living there.
The five Black's walked to the door and knocked lightly. It was answered by a house elf in a sad pillowcase. He bowed at the witches and wizard in front of him and opened the door to let them in.
Druella led Andromeda into the house and the rest of their family followed suit.
The Lestrange mansion had been decorated with what seemed like every decoration possible. There were twelve trees in the foyer, the parlor, and the ballroom. Garland hung from every surface and icicles were strung from the ceiling. Andromeda couldn't believe the extent to which the Lestrange's had gone to decorate.
Almost as impressive as the decoration was the sheer amount of witches and wizards in attendance. It seemed as if every respectable Pureblood family was in attendance.
The Notts, Malfoy's, Greengrasses', Goyles, Crabbes, Zabinis, Carrows, Rosiers, Crouchs, Yaxleys, and Bulstrodes where all there as well as many others. Andromeda recognized a large amount of her housemates scattered across the house.
" Oh, Druella. You're here" Lydia Lestrange called walking over to her and kissing Druella on the cheek.
Lydia Lestrange was a beautiful witch with sparkling skin, high cheekbones, and a sheet of white blonde hair. Her sons had obviously taken after her, but with the hair of their father.
" We wouldn't dare miss it" Druella told her.
" Hello, Mrs. Lestrange" Andromeda told her as Lydia pulled her into a hug.
" Andromeda please, call me Lydia" Lydia told her, " and don't you look beautiful"
Druella smiled proudly at her daughter and Andromeda felt herself blush slightly.
" Rabastan is in the parlor, he'll be delighted you're here" Lydia said.
Andromeda smiled and took the hint from her mother's face and said, " Great, I think I'll go find him then"
Lydia smiled at her and Andromeda made her way through the crowded party to the parlor.
She had been to this house so many times that she could have done it with her eyes closed. The parlor was mostly crowded with Hogwarts age people. Andromeda said hello to a few people as she walked over to the corner where Rabastan was standing with Thomas and Evan. Alicia was standing with them, holding Evan's hand tightly.
Rabastan was wearing dress robes again and his hair had been styled. He looked up and saw Andromeda, his face brightened instantly.
" Andromeda!" he said happily as she walked over, " you're here"
Andromeda smiled, " Just got here".
She stood next to him and quickly said hello to everyone else. Alicia was obviously excited that her friend was here.
" Can you believe the dress on Annalise Greengrass?" Alicia asked her gesturing to the purple poofy dress the girl was wearing, " honestly some girls can't dress at all"
" Well you look nice, Alicia" Andromeda told her.
Alicia beamed. She was wearing a knee length pink dress and her hair was swooped onto the top of her head. Andromeda didn't often see her dressed up, so tonight she looked especially pretty.
They stood their talking for a few minutes before Lydia walked into the room and announced that everyone should move to the ballroom for dinner and dancing.
Andromeda followed behind Rabastan and Alicia into the ballroom and found that there was a huge space in the middle that was left clear for dancing while the edge of the room was lined with beautifully decorated dinner tables.
Each seat had a name card, and Andromeda noticed that her family, along with her cousins and aunt and uncle had been placed at the Lestrange's table with the Avery's.
Her parent's looked overjoyed at this fact as they sat down in between Mr. & Mrs. Lestrange and Mr. & Mrs. Avery. The other Mr. & Mrs. Black were next to them too.
Andromeda was seated between Bellatrix and Rabastan.
As soon as everyone had sat down, waiters dressed in Dress Robes came to each table and put a plate of food in front of each person. As the families began eating, they started making conversation.
To her horror, she overheard the conversation between Lydia and her mother, and realized that they were talking about her.
" That bracelet Rabastan gave Andromeda for her birthday was absolutely beautiful" Druella gushed to Lydia.
The other woman smiled widely, " Wasn't it? He's always had good taste, which is why I think he seems to be so enamored with your daughter"
Andromeda looked away trying to pretend she hadn't just heard the conversation between the two of them. She spent most of the meal listening to Bella making snide comments about the people in attendance who she didn't like and talking to Rabastan about the food.
When dinner ended, several couples got up and moved to the dance floor. Most of them were married couples. Both the Lestranges and both Blacks had all stood and and gone to the floor.
" You want to dance?" Rabastan asked her from beside her.
Andromeda blinked at him in surprise. Rabastan didn't seem like the type. She nodded, knowing it would be rude to refuse and let Rabastan take her hand and lead her to the dance floor.
Andromeda had been taught how to waltz when she was younger, like most Pureblood were. So she was entirely prepared. Rabastan placed his hand on her waist and took the other in his own. The song started and the two began to spin around the dancefloor.
" You're pretty good at this" Andromeda commented as Rabastan moved gracefully around the room.
Rabastan smiled, " I've had a lot of practice" he told her as he spun her out and then back to his chest.
Andromeda felt momentarily nervous as Rabastan wrapped his arms around her. It only lasted a second. He spun her out again and returned his hand to her waist and danced.
Both of their parents were beaming at them and they noticed.
" Any chance you want to go for a walk, and get out of here for a few minutes?" Rabastan whispered in her ear.
Desperate to get away from her mother's watchful eye, Andromeda nodded and followed him out of the ballroom and through the doors to the grounds.
The air outside was freezing and Andromeda shivered slightly at the cold.
" Here" Rabastan said shrugging off his robes and putting them over Andromeda's shoulders.
She smiled, " Thanks".
Rabastan nodded and the two walked down the path to the gardens behind the house. The Rabastan's lawns were beautiful and they walked through them silently. When Rabastan approached one of the low garden benches he sat down and Andromeda took the spot next to him.
" You know" he told her, " you look really nice tonight"
" Thanks" Andromeda told him looking down, " so do you"
Rabastan smiled and looked at his hands. He looked more nervous than Andromeda had ever seen him before.
" Andromeda" he said quietly.
Andromeda looked up at him and he moved towards her, leaning close and kissed her. One of his arms wrapped around her and he pulled her towards him.
Andromeda responded the way she always did when she was kissed, and she kissed him back. Rabastan was a good kisser. His lips were soft, and the arms that held her to him were strong. But something felt wrong. A year ago, Andromeda would have killed to be sitting at the Lestrange Christmas Party being kissed by Rabastan, but now she wished it were someone else. She wished it was Ted who was kissing her. Sudden realization washed over her as she and Rabastan broke apart. She liked Ted.
He was a muggleborn and a Hufflepuff and he was loud, and he pried into Andromeda's life and drove her crazy. He was completely wrong for her, and he bothered her. But Andromeda liked him.
Rabastan smiled at her, completely unaware of what was going on inside her head.
Andromeda's stomach flipped feeling a mixture of guilt and disgust. What was she going to do now.
Rabastan stood up and took her hand in his, leading her back into the ballroom and to their table. His hand felt like it was burning against hers, as the guilt spread further into her.
She was holding the hand of the respectable Slytherin pureblood boy who had just kissed her, and she liked a muggleborn.
Andromeda Black liked a muggleborn.
As Andromeda and Rabastan sat down, everyone at their table looked at their interlocked hands and Rabastan's robes around Andromeda's shoulders.
She had never seen two sets of parents smile as hard as the Blacks and the Lestrange's were now.
Andromeda let go of Rabastan's hand and handed him back the robes. He sat down next to her and was in a much more friendly mood for the rest of the evening. Andromeda kept noticing her family throwing glances at the two of them all night long and Andromeda was burning with guilt.
The night lagged on and finally as it approached midnight, people started to leave. Thankfully, the Black's seemed to decide it was getting late and they all headed for the door.
" So, I'll see you at school then?" Rabastan asked Andromeda , walking her to the door.
" Yeah" Andromeda said quietly, nodding.
She wasn't even looking at him. She felt too horrible.
" Okay, well see you then" Rabastan said placing a quick kiss on her cheek. Andromeda let him, but she was extremely uncomfortable.
Her mother smiled at the gesture and Andromeda felt even worse. She didn't know how she had managed to get herself into this situation, but now she was really starting to freak out.
Andromeda Black liked a muggleborn. And she had no idea what to do about it.
Andromeda woke up on Christmas morning in her bed. She wasn't excited at all about Christmas this year. She was still too anxious about what had happened the night before.
She walked downstairs in her pajamas and found Bellatrix and Narcissa were already sitting on the floor in front of their own stack of presents, opening them excitedly.
Andromeda sat down in front of the pile of green presents in front of her and just stared at them. She didn't want to open them. She didn't want to see what her parent's had gotten her. She felt too horrible.
" Andromeda, open your presents" Druella ordered from the sitting room. She was reading a copy of the prophet on the couch.
Andromeda looked up at her and then slowly opened the presents in front of her. She had been given a silver hand mirror, several new books, and a new broomstick. It was the newest broom on the market. A comet 74. Andromeda stroked the glossy handle in disbelief.
" Only the best for the Slytherin Quidditch team" her father said from his armchair, " you better win the next game"
Andromeda sighed, of course they had heard about Slytherin's loss to Hufflepuff. They had given her the new broom to ensure that she didn't make any more mistakes for their former house.
" Thank you both" Andromeda said picking up her things in arms.
Her mother nodded curtly, " Girls bring your things upstairs and go get ready, the rest of the family will be arriving shortly".
All three of the Black girls scooped up their presents and walked up the stairs to their bedrooms.
Andromeda opened the door to hers, but was stopped by Bellatrix.
She was grinning at her, " So, Andromeda tell me did you and Rabastan kiss last night?" she asked quickly, " because Rodolphus told me you did and I wanted to hear it from you"
Andromeda suddenly very angry. She hated that her business was being talked about behind her back, especially when even she didn't want it to happen.
" Mind your own business, Bellatrix" Andromeda snapped and walked into her room, closing the door loudly behind her.
Andromeda didn't know what was wrong with her. She was never normally like this. This whole Ted Rabastan thing was making her go mad, and be rude to her family.
She wanted it to stop. She wished she had never even met Tonks.
No you don't the little voice in her said clearly.
Andromeda didn't want it to be right. Just thinking about it was making her upset. She tried not to. She got dressed and hung upstairs into her room until she heard her family arriving downstairs.
Druella and Cygnus always hosted Christmas at their house. So every year all of the Blacks and their relatives arrived at Black Manor to celebrate the holiday.
Andromeda walked downstairs and found everyone had already arrived.
Her grandparents, Irma and Pollux were sitting in two armchairs by the fire. Andromeda had never liked them much. They adored her father and didn't like her mother, so they usually kept very quiet and to themselves.
Her parents were sitting on the couch with her Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion, which meant that Sirius and Regulus were around here somewhere too.
Andromeda found Regulus sitting on the floor beside the tree with Narcissa, and Sirius was standing in the corner with his arms crossed, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but there.
Andromeda walked over and stood next to him, " You look about as miserable as I do"
Sirius shook his head, " I bet I'm more miserable"
Andromeda shrugged, " At least at some point you get to leave here today" she reminded him.
Sirius wrinkled his nose, " Yeah, but I have to go back to my home, which is even worse"
Andromeda sighed.
Sirius turned to her, " So Andromeda" he said with a lopsided grin, " remind me again why Perfect Pureblood Slytherin Andromeda Black was at a Gryffindor party dancing with a muggleborn?" he asked her quietly.
Andromeda eye's widened and she smacked him hard on the arm, " Are you bloody insane?" she whispered angrily, " why would you bring this up here?"
Sirius just laughed, " Andromeda Relax, no one can hear us"
Andromeda was unconvinced, she looked past his shoulder to make sure that none of the adults were listening to their conversation.
They all seemed to be too busy with their own conversations to hear anything that either of them were saying.
Andromeda turned back to her cousin who was wearing a wide grin.
" Oh, Shut it Sirius" she said crossing her arms.
He laughed again, " No don't get me wrong, I'm impressed. I thought I had lost you to the rest of them"
Andromeda narrowed her eyes at him, " Don't repeat that, Sirius. Do you realize the trouble I would be in if any of them found out about that?"
Sirius shook his head, " Don't worry, my lips are sealed. I'm not likely to rat on the only family I like" he pointed out, slinging an arm around Andromeda's shoulders.
Andromeda rolled her eyes at him but smiled. When she looked up she saw that her Uncle Alphard had just arrived.
Uncle Alphard was Walburga and Druella's much younger brother. He looked like an older Sirius.
Alphard was only thirty two and was the most liberal of the Blacks. He was always spouting his more radical political views that disagreed with the usual Black ideas.
Druella had mentioned more than once that Alphard should watch what he says before he got himself blasted off Aunt Walburga's family tapestry.
Uncle Alphard was the only person in Andromeda's family, besides Sirius, who was far too young, who she thought she might be able to talk to about what was going on with her.
So she waited until he was alone so that she could talk to him.
After about an hour of being there, Uncle Alphard excused himself to the library to refill his whiskey.
Andromeda slipped after him and followed him into the library closing the door behind her.
" Andromeda?" her Uncle Alphard asked her, " what are you doing here? You're not getting a drink are you?" he asked her with his eyebrow raised.
Andromeda shook her head and laughed, " No, I just wanted to talk to you about something, away from everyone else"
She turned to the door and pulled out her wand whispering 'muffliato' to make the room soundproof.
Andromeda could feel her throat closing and her palms sweating as she grew more nervous. She couldn't believe she was actually going to say this out loud.
Uncle Alphard leaned against the bookshelf with his whiskey in his hand and said, " Alright, lay it on me"
Andromeda took a deep breath, " Okay, so you know how sometimes you get into arguments with Mother and Aunt Walburga about your stance on muggleborns?" Andromeda asked.
Her uncle nodded and Andromeda could feel her knees starting to shake slightly.
" Well" she said quietly, " I think I agree with you"
Her uncle blinked in her, taking in her words.
" Really?" he asked her.
Andromeda nodded quickly and a smile broke out onto her uncle's face. He walked towards her and pulled her into a tight hug.
" This is wonderful news, Andromeda!" he exclaimed, " that means that their seventeen years of brainwashing didn't work, you have your own opinions and they're the right ones"
Andromeda frowned, as happy as she was that her Uncle Alphard and her agreed about muggleborns what she had to say next was much harder.
" But, I have a problem" Andromeda said chewing on the end of her nail.
Her uncle grew quiet as he waited for her to elaborate.
" You see" Andromeda said looking at the floor, " There's this muggleborn boy I go to school with,"
She looked up at her Uncle's face searching for his reaction.
" and I think I like him" Andromeda finished quietly.
She instantly studied his face, looking for any sign of emotion. He just stared back at her blank faced.
He ran his hands through his hair and over his chin.
" That is a problem" he said quietly.
Andromeda stood with her arms crossed, feeling like she was being crushed with a bag of weights.
" I assume you haven't told anyone about this" her uncle said.
Andromeda shook her head fiercely and he Uncle took another deep breath.
He sighed and turned to her, " Andromeda, you aren't in the position to be with a muggleborn" he told her, " your parents would disown you"
Andromeda stared at the floor and nodded slowly. She knew he was going to tell her this.
" But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it" he added quickly.
Andromeda looked at him in disbelief, " What?" she asked.
She thought she had misheard him. There was no way that her Uncle, her mother's brother was actually advising her to do that. She had thought he would have helped her come up with a way to get over it, not encourage it.
Her uncle took her by the shoulder and sat her down on the couch in the library.
" Andromeda" he said sternly, " if you are not happy in your life, then it's not worth it. You need to do what will make you happy. If this muggleborn boy is it, then you need to do it, but that is a life altering decision and you need to make sure that that is what you really want"
He looked at her more softly now, " In a house like this, you can't just do things like that, and trust me I understand better than anyone. So my recommendation for you is to try and get over it. This may just be a schoolgirl crush and not something worth ruining your life for, but if it isn't. If it is really what you want Andromeda if it is really what will make you happy, than you do it and you don't look back"
Andromeda blinked at him again. She was still so shocked that he was telling her to do this. She was sure her mother would have murdered Alphard in his sleep of she had heard what he was telling her right now. But it comforted Andromeda. It gave her a little hope and made her feel less like a horrible person.
" Thank you" Andromeda told her Uncle quickly, " I needed that"
Her Uncle wrapped an arm around her and hugged her tightly
" Love is never wrong, Andromeda" he told her, " I don't care what any of them say"
Andromeda smiled at him, feeling slightly better that she had someone to talk to.
" That being said" her Uncle added, " I would try and keep it a secret if I were you"
She nodded. There was no way she was going to tell anyone else about this. She wasn't stupid.
Her uncle smiled again and stood up, taking her hand and leading her to the door.
" You and Sirius always have been my favorites in the family" Alphard told her, " now I know why"
Andromeda beamed at him. She was glad that she had told him. He had managed to make her feel better about the whole situation.
They both sat down in the living room with the rest of the family and tried to enjoy the rest of their Christmas.
Andromeda spent most of her time sitting on the couch with Sirius, trying to ignore everyone else. Sirius disliked them all almost as much as she did at the moment.
" Look at them" Sirius said under his breath shaking his head at Druella and Walburga who were sitting close together and laughing loudly about something, " probably talking about a murdered muggleborn or something"
Andromeda felt herself get angry. She hated that was one of their favorite topics of discussion.
She crossed her legs and found herself staring at the both of them with a look of disgust and mumbling
" bigoted, racist gits"
Sirius eyed her with a look of pure joy, " I'm liking this new side of you, Andromeda"
Andromeda shrugged, she didn't know if it was a new side to her or one that was getting very sick of hiding itself. Logically, she knew she had to stay the good daughter. She had to remain obedient and do what she was told, but at least she knew she was different from them. And that was good for now.
Andromeda got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, getting herself a glass of Pumpkin juice.
When she walked back into the sitting room. Her parents and the rest of the adults were all gathered around in a loud conversation about politics.
"... it's just the fact that the even let them into Hogwarts that's disgusting to me" her Aunt Walburga said rolling her eyes, " I mean these mudbloods have no magical family. They're practically muggles"
" They should just be thrown out" her uncle Orion agreed.
" Or gotten rid of" her mother added.
Andromeda felt the glass slip from her hands and fall to the floor where it shattered.
All of the adults looked up at her quickly.
" Andromeda!" her mother scolded.
Andromeda had never felt so conflicted in her entire life. She bent down to pick up the pieces and control herself from getting angry.
" Oh just leave it" her mother said frustrated, " Libby will get it".
The house elf had come out of the kitchen with a broom and ushered Andromeda away from the fragments.
Andromeda walked back over to the couch where Sirius was sitting and joined him. Alphard was sitting on the other side of him. He gave her a look.
She knew what it meant. Ignore them, don't give them the satisfaction.
" Anyway as I was saying" Druella continued, " I don't even know why they let them go to Hogwarts in the first place"
Andromeda's leg shook angrily. And Sirius looked like his eyes were going to fall out of his head because he was rolling them so much.
" You know some of the best witches and wizards in my year are muggleborn" Sirius said loudly.
" SIRIUS!" Aunt Walburga scolded shrilly.
Sirius shrugged, " I'm just saying, I'm a Pureblood and some of them are better than me"
" Shut your mouth Sirius, before I do it for you" Uncle Orion said dangerously from beside her.
Sirius rolled his eyes, but he didn't say anything for the rest of the evening. Neither did Andromeda. She remained resolutely silent.
When the evening was over and everyone began to leave, her Uncle Alphard grabbed her arm and stopped her.
" Listen Andromeda" he told her, " I know you're dealing with a lot right now, so if you need to talk do not hesitate to write me"
Andromeda nodded and he pulled her into a hug.
" I'm proud of who you've become" he told her and gave her one last smile before apparating with a quick pop.
Andromeda didn't wait to say goodbye to the rest of her family. She just went back upstairs. She had dealt with them enough today and wasn't in the mood to do it anymore.