Chapter 21
When Andromeda woke up the next morning, she had thought that the day before had been the worst day of her life. She had no idea how wrong she was. The rest of dorm mates, gave her dirty looks and scowled at her as she got dressed. She tried to ignore them as best she could. They were the bigoted, racist ones, but Andromeda was the one who was suffering because of it. She grabbed her bag and left the room quickly, not wanting to be around them any longer than she had to be. The rest of the Slytherin's eyes followed her as she walked out of the Common Room. Andromeda didn't think she had ever seen anyone in Slytherin who was as largely despised as she was right now. She truly had gotten under the skin of hundreds of Purebloods.
She tried not to think about it. She waited outside of the Great Hall for Ted, and when he and Alfie walked up from the Hufflepuff Common Room, the three of them walked together to the Hufflepuff table and sat down. This ilicted much less stared than it had yesterday, and for that Andromeda was grateful. She knew it would never be fully forgotten. All of the Slytherins would never forget, but she desperately hoped the rest of the school would grow bored of the topic soon. She didn't know how much more of the stares and constant gossip she could take.
" So, how was last night?" Ted asked her.
Andromeda ran her hand through her hair and avoided his eyes, " I found about a pint of blood in my bed, so that should give you some idea"
Ted looked horrified and Alfie blinked in confusion.
" Why blood?" Alfie asked her.
Andromeda shrugged, " They made some comment about how I liked dirty blood. I'm sure it was their immature idea of trying to scare me"
" That's disgusting" Ted said shaking his head.
There was a screech as the Owls flew in through the window and began to drop letters and parcels in front of their owners. One of the large school Owls dropped an envelope in front of Andromeda. Her name was on it in a large, curly script.
Both she and Ted eyed it strangely. Andromeda tore it open and read it quickly.
Andromeda,
I am very sorry for you. I cannot even begin to understand what you are going through at the moment. I know that our family and our house contains some of the cruelest and most vile people i've ever known. It is because of this that I most warn you Andromeda, this will not be over soon. This is a betrayl that they will not be likely to forget. Be aware, and be cautious.
I know this must be difficult, but know I am proud of you. Give my best to that boyfriend of yours.
- Alphard
When Andromeda finished it, she handed it to Ted to read. He read it quickly and then handed it back to her.
" Do you know what he means by ' its going to get worse'?" he asked her.
Andromeda shook her head. She was just as confused by her uncle's words as Ted had been.
They finished breakfast chatting about the day to come, and when it ended Hestia walked over to the table to walk with Andromeda to Charms.
They left the Great Hall with a cluster of students and were about to head towards charms when Andromeda stopped dead in her tracks.
" Andromeda, what's wrong?" Hestia asked quickly.
Andromeda didn't answer and just continued to stare at the two figures approaching her.
Walking side by side, down the entryway of the castle with angry scowls plastered on their face, were Cygnus and Druella Black.
" ANDROMEDA WALBURGA BLACK!" her mother shouted as they approached her.
Andromeda was paralyzed with fear and Hestia looked from her to the two adults approaching with a look of concern.
The students who were leaving the Great Hall had now clustered behind Andromeda and Hestia, anxiously watching the scene in front of them enfold.
Druella walked over to her middle daughter and grabbed her roughly by the forearm.
" Have you any idea what you have done, Andromeda?" she demanded, " the damage you have caused to this families reputation?Associating like that with a mudblood? Have you gone mad? You are a Pureblood and a Black, do you realize what you have done to yourself. I doubt you'll ever find yourself a respectable husband now!"
The veins in Cygnus' forehead looked like they were going to pop as he looked at his daughter,
" Do you have any idea what we've been through!?" he shouted at her, " Your mother and I get a letter from Bellatrix and the Lestranges! You've embarrassed us all beyond belief and I assure you that you will never do it again!"
Andromeda's eyes widened in fear. Almost the entire school had assembled behind them.
Ted was standing a little behind Andromeda with the rest of his house, staring at her parents in fear and anger.
" You're coming with us" Druella said yanking on her daughter, pulling her forward, " I will not have any daughter of mine behaving this way, and if it's this school then fine, you will be leaving and you'll never see that mudblood again!"
" No!" Andromeda said yanking her arm back from her mother, " I'm not leaving"
She took a step back from her.
" Oh yes you are" her father said grabbing her by a fistful of her hair.
Andromeda roared out in pain and pulled away from him.
Bellatrix and Narcissa were standing at the edge of the crowd, watching the scene with their arms crossed.
For the first time since this had all happened, Andromeda didn't want to go back to being a Black. She didn't want to be the passive, obedient daughter who listened to their bigoted and racist ideas and didn't get what she wanted. She wasn't going to let them do this.
" I'm of age" Andromeda told them forcefully, " and I'm not leaving Hogwarts"
Druella scowled and Cygnus' mouth twitched in anger.
" Fine then" Cygnus said in a rage of anger, " I hope you enjoy being an orphan! You're no longer a Black. No daughter of mine will behave this way. Consider yourself disowned"
Andromeda felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, but she didn't show it.
" I hope this was worth it" Cygnus spat at her, " I hope that mudblood of yours was worth being a bloodtraitor. I hope it was worth it losing your family"
" If thats how you feel then you're no family of mine" Andromeda snapped, crossing her arms.
" How dare you!" Druella shouted and slapped Andromeda across the face with as much force as she could muster.
Andromeda leaped back from her and clutched her face, tears were now streaming down her face.
" Fine" She roared at her parents, " Blame me for this if you need too, but this isn't me, this you and your bigoted superiority complexes!"
Cygnus shook with anger and drew his wand on Andromeda, " I'll make you regret saying that you insolent little bitch" he snapped.
At his words, Ted had run forward and pulled Andromeda behind him. Andromeda wished he hadn't. No he was in just as much danger as she was.
" So this is the mudblood filth that you've given everything up for" Druella scowled, and took a step back as if the two were diseased.
" I ought to kill you both" Cygnus snapped, " for the shame you've brought our family"
The doors behind Cygnus and Druella opened and Dumbledore walked out, flanked by Professor McGonagall.
" Cygnus, Druella," Dumbledore said firmly, " Unless you plan on taking either of your other two daughters out of this school, I suggest you leave before I am forced to call the Aurors"
Cygnus took his wife's hand and scowled at the Headmaster.
" Oh I will be leaving" he snapped at him, " You have caused this problem and now she is yours to deal with. I will not spend any more time in an institution that encourages this!" he snapped pointing at Andromeda and Ted.
Andromeda watched as her parents left the castle, and she felt an enormous weight lifted off of her chest.
" You all classes to get to" Dumbledore said to the crowd assembled behind them. With a slight murmur, the crowd began to disperse.
Andromeda however, didn't move. Ted was still holding onto her and Hestia was at her side. They were talking to her but she couldn't hear what they were saying. She was in shock.
" Ms. Black?" Dumbledore asked her. He was standing in front of her.
" Yes?" Andromeda asked being momentarily pulled out of her trance.
" Would you like to go to the Hospital Wing?" the Headmaster asked her.
Andromeda shook her head firmly. She wasn't physically hurt, and she didn't want to make a bigger deal out of what was happening.
" No, I think I'd just like to go to Charms, Professor" she told him.
Hestia snickered at her words and turned to the Headmaster, " I'll make sure she gets there alright, Professor"
Professor Dumbledore nodded curtly and turned to Professor McGonagall. The two of them left the hall, leaving Ted, Hestia and Andromeda alone.
" Well that was.." Hestia trailed off.
" An average day in the life of Andromeda Black" Andromeda joked.
Ted and Hestia both let out a small laugh.
" You promise me you're okay?" Ted asked her.
Andromeda nodded and kissed his cheek, " I'm fine. Go to Herbology"
She didn't want to lie to him, but she was so worried about what had just happened she knew telling him would only make it worse.
Ted cast one last glance at her, kissed her forehead and then walked off towards the greenhouses.
Hestia and Andromeda walked back towards charms.
Andromeda felt a horrible sense of dread as she thought about what had just happened. She had no family and she had no idea where she was going to go during the summer, but she tried not to think about it.
" So those are your parents?" Hestia asked.
Andromeda nodded, " Dear old Mum and Dad"
Hestia nodded, " So now I think i understand your hesitation to start things with Ted"
Andromeda shook her head, " I don't regret it" she said quickly, " I think it was the best decision I've ever met"
Hestia smiled, " Well I'm sure Tonks would love to hear that"
Andromeda mustered a small smile, and Hestia hooked arms with her and walked together to Charms.
The next few weeks were easier than Andromeda could have anticipated. She had managed to adjust to her ostracizm as well as she could. Now, she the only time she spent around Slytherins was when she went back to her dormitory to sleep. Other than that, she avoided them like the plague.
She now ate all of her meals at the Hufflepuff table. She had gotten to know most of them much better and it seemed that they had accepted her. She spent most of her free time in the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor common rooms too, something that frustrated the Fat Lady beyond belief.
Ted, Hestia and Alfie had made it their mission to keep Andromeda from feeling sad about the fact that she was no longer welcome around her fellow Slytherins and so far they had done a decent job. As much as she wished her family had been able to accept what she wanted, Andromeda knew they never would. And even though she was familieless now, she was glad that she was able to have a future she wanted.
She hadn't spoken to any of her family besides Sirius since the incident. Bellatrix and Narcissa would avoid her at all costs, and if they were forced to be around her, they would pretend she didn't exist. The Quidditch team had joined her sisters in their avoidance. They ignored her for most of practice and when they did have to refer to her they simply called her the " Bloodtraitor Chaser". Andromeda had considered quitting the team, but Ted had talked her out of it. He had reminded her how much she loved Quidditch and shouldn't have to give it up for them. So she stayed, trying to ignore the team and focusing on the game.
The rest of the Slytherins however had taken a different approach. Instead of ignoring her, they were making her life miserable. Their new favorite hobby was tormenting her.
She had had so many obsecenities yelled at her lately that they had lost all meaning. She wasn't the
one. Ted was also getting his fair share of it too. The Slytherins were furious at him for being ' the mudblood who ruined a Black' so he was being harrassed as much as Andromeda.
Andromeda had apologized to him a hundred times for it, but every time he had told her that it wasn't her fault and he would endure it hundred more times to be with her.
The other thing that had changed dramtically, was the fact that they didn't have to hide their relationship anymore. Though they didn't like to flaunt it or draw too much attnetion to themselves, they were now able to do all things that they couldn't before.
They no longer had to worry about holding each other's hand, or hugging. It didn't matter anymore.
One day, Slughorn had been late to class, and all of the N.E.W.T students were gathered around the entrance to potions and the Slytherins were standing off in the corner staring at Andromeda and Ted, who were standing next to each other closely.
Andromeda scowled at them and turned to Ted, " They are staring, they're quite literally staring at us" she complained.
Ted smiled for a second, " Well then let's really give them something to look at, shall we?" he suggested, and pulled Andromeda towards him, holding her by the waist and kissing her.
Andromeda smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs next to them laughed and when they broke apart, they noticed the Slytherins were all scowling with looks of disgust on their faces.
Ted winked at Andromeda, and she wrapped an arm around his waist. She didn't care what any of them thought. What she and Ted had was more happy and functional than any relationship any of them had ever had.
Andromeda spent the rest of the day in classes and after her last one, she and Ted decided to enjoy the warm weather out on the grounds.
They were sitting down by one of the large beech trees and looking at the massive Black lake in front of them.
" So I'm holding you to naming our son Edward you know" Andromeda told him.
Ted wrapped an arm around her shoulders and grinned widely, " Dromeda, if I am lucky enough to marry and have kids with you, you can name them anything you want. It can be Nymphadora for all I care"
" I like the sound of that" Andromeda said holding his hand tightly,
Ted laughed, " Nymphadora it is then" he joked.
" So what else do you have planned for our life then?" Andromeda asked.
Ted grinned, " Well we're going to get married and buy a cute little blue house, with a garden full of Crumple Horned Snorcacks and garden gnomes"
" A blue house really?" Andromeda asked, " why?"
Ted grinned again and flashed Andromeda a crooked smile.
" It's the color you get when you mix yellow and green" he reminded her.
Andromeda couldn't help but smile." You're an idiot" she told him.
Ted burst into laughter.
Andromeda moved closer to him and they stayed there talking until dinner.
" So where exactly have you two been for the past two hours?" Hestia asked at dinner with a raised eyebrow.
" The grounds, Hestia" Andromeda said shaking her head.
Hestia wiggled her eyebrows, " Sure, you were"
Ted and Andromeda looked at each other and rolled their eyes with a wide smile.
Dinner ended and Andromeda said goodbye to everyone. She had some Herbology homework to finish and decided she needed to go to the library and work it.
The library was almost empty. Only a few people were sitting at the tables. Andromeda found one near the back of the library and sat down with a large copy of 1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi.
Herbology was one of the subjects she always found to be the easiest, but during the last few months she had spent so much time worrying about everything else that she had to catch up a bit. She had always been a perfect student and she wasn't going to let everything going on in her life disrupt that. Before this year, she had always wanted to be Head Girl, but now she doubted that that would happen.
She stayed in the library perfecting her essay until Madam Pince kicked her and the few other students out.
She was exhausted, which was probably why she wasn't paying much attention. She walked towards the Slytherin Common Room and prepared herself for the fifteen minutes of scowls and dirty look she would have to endure.
She was just passing the abandoned classroom on the second floor when someone grabbed her from behind and held their hand over her mouth.
For a brief second, she hoped it was Ted messing around, but she soon realized it was someone much taller and rougher.
The figure dragged her into the classroom and locked the door behind them. Andromeda turned around and realized the figure that had pulled her into the room was Rabastan. Bellatrix and Rodolphus were also in the room. Andromeda had never been so confused. She stared at the three people in front of her in confusion. Rabastan and Rodolphus both had their wands drawn.
" What's going on?" Andromeda demanded. Her voice was cracking and she felt her chest tighten.
" Grab her" Bellatrix snapped at them.
" What?" Andromeda demanded and felt both of the Lestranges' grab one side of her and wrestle her to the ground.
Andromeda was lying on her back and both of the Lestranges' were pinning her down.
Bellatrix hovered her and smiled a vicious smile.
" So you think you can just betray our family and soil our name with that mudblood and get away with it?" she shouted at her.
" Bella please, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you" Andromeda sobbed.
Rabastan's knee was digging into her side and she was trying not to anger any of them any more than she already had. She was in a vulnerable position.
" Hurt me?" Bellatrix demanded, " the only one who's going to be hurt here is you"
She reached into her belt and pulled out a large charcoal dagger. Andromeda had seen it a hundred times. It belonged to their father and was one of the oldest Black family heirlooms.
" Keep her still" Bellatrix ordered Rodolphus, and slid up the sleeve of Andromeda's sweater, exposing her bare arm.
Andromeda realized what she was going to do about a second before it happened.
Bellatrix reached down and began to carve something into her arm.
It was one of the most real pains Andromeda had ever felt. She could feel it piercing her skin and the blood running down her arm and through her fingers.
She had never been in this much pain before and the worst part was that her sister was doing it.
She couldn't watch. She turned her head away from her and looked at Rabastan. His normally happy, bright face was contorted with cruelty and he looked at her with a look of pure hatred.
It felt like it when on for hours, though it couldn't have more than ten minutes.
By the time Bellatrix had finished and pocketed her knife, Andromeda was in so much pain that she didn't want to move.
" Let this be a reminder for what you've done" Bellatrix said standing up.
" Come on" she said to the Lestranges and in one quick movement they had all left the room.
Andromeda sat up. Her arm was covered in deep scratches, dripping with blood. She gasped when saw what Bellatrix had carved into her skin.
The world 'Mudlover' was carved into her skin.
Andromeda began to cry as she saw it. She tried to wipe the blood from it with her other sleeve but it only stung. She continued crying, she had thought the worst was over, but it turns out it wasn't.
The door opened and Alfie walked in.
" Andromeda? Is that you?" Alfie said walking over to her and crouching down, " I heard someone crying from outside"
Andromeda sniffed and tried to wipe her tears from her eyes.
" Merlin, what happened?" he asked looking at her arm, " What happened?"
Andromeda shook her head, " It's nothing"
Alfie continued to stare at her, " Andy its bleeding really bad, can I take you to the hospital wing?"
Andromeda shook her head, " No, I'm okay"
Alfie looked at her arm again. Andromeda stood up and looked at it again. It was bleeding pretty badly but the last thing she wanted was to go to the Hospital wing.
" Then just let me get Ted okay? Stay here" Alfie said and darted from the room.
Andromeda looked back down at her arm and she couldn't believe that Bellatrix had done this. It was pretty deep, but that wasn't the worst part.
Andromeda's father had told her when she was young that the dagger had been dipped in some magical potion that made whatever it carved permanant.
She would have the word mudlover carved into her arm forever, which she was sure was Bellatrix's intention.
The door opened again and Alfie walked in with Ted.
" Dromeda, what happened?" Ted said grabbing her arm and looking at all the blood. He looked at the word carved into her arm, and shuddered. He obviously knew what it meant.
" Who did this to you?" he asked her. He was still holding her arm.
Andromeda just shook her head, " Don't worry about it, it's not important"
" Not important!?" Ted demanded, " they attacked you, Andromeda. They carved an insult into your arm and left you to bleed, and you're telling me it's not important"
" No it's not important!" Andromeda said loudly.
She could feel the tears stinging in her eyes as she grew more upset. She didn't know why she couldn't tell him or why it was so important to her, but she felt like telling him would make it real.
" Why won't you tell me who did this to you?" Ted demanded angrily, " they hurt you"
It was the only fight Andromeda and Ted had ever gotten into and Alfie was standing near the door looking extremely uncomfortable.
" Ted, please just stop" Andromeda said avoiding his eyes.
" I just don't understand why you can't tell me" Ted told her seriously.
" Because it's my sister!" Andromeda told him, tears running down my face, " my own sister, who I grew up with and shared parents with, and she got her boyfriend and his brother to force me to the ground and cut into my arm. And its horrible and humiliating. My own sister hurt me, Ted. That's why I didn't want to tell you"
Her tears started falling down her face.
" Dromeda, I didn't know. I'm so sorry" Ted said pulling her into hug.
" How could she do this?" Andromeda sobbed, " I'm her sister"
The more she said it out loud, the more it hurt her. She couldn't believe that Bellatrix had done this to her. She knew that Bloodstatus was important to her, but she never thought it would actually come between them like this.
Ted shook his head, " Andromeda it's not you. She's the problem"
Andromeda wiped the tears from her eyes and Ted picked up her arm again.
" So remind me why you won't let me take you to the Hospital Wing" Ted asked her.
She shook her head firmly, " No, Ted. I don't want anyone to see this, I can't go there. Half the school will know by tomorrow if I go"
Ted nodded, " At least let me help you clean it up, okay?" he said.
Andromeda nodded and Ted led her out of the room.
" I'll meet you in the dormitory" Ted told Alfie, " thank you for making sure she was okay"
Alfie nodded, " I'll see you down there"
Ted led Andromeda to the prefects bathroom on the fifth floor helped her rinse the blood off of her arm, and let her squeeze his hand as he ran the soap over it.
He stopped when it was clean and ran his thumb over the now scarlet letters.
" Mudlover" he said quietly, " this is because of me"
Andromeda shook her head, " Ted, this wasn't about you, it was me. It was my family "
He frowned and ran his finger over the words again, shaking his head.
" Sometimes I think that if I had never kissed you, you're life would be so much better" he said quietly.
Andromeda blinked at him in confusion, taking a moment to process what he was saying.
" Ted, that's not the way it happened" she told him, " I liked you before you kissed me, it would have happened anyway, and in a strange way I'm sort of glad it did"
Ted offered her a small smile. He hugged her to him and Andromed wrapped her arms around him.
" I still can't believe I have to sleep there tonight, under the same roof as the rest of them" she said looking at her arm again, " I don't want to go back there tonight"
" So hypothetically" Ted said, " what if you didn't?"
Andromeda looked at him in confusion, " What do you mean?"
" Just stay in the Hufflepuff dormitory tonight" Ted said, " everyone's already asleep anyway, and then tomorrow you need to talk to Slughorn about this"
Andromeda frowned. The last thing she wanted to was talk to Slughorn about this problem, and sleeping in the Hufflepuff Dormitory would only further the talk about them.
" I don't know, I'm pretty sure that's breaking three school rules" Andromeda told her.
Ted frowned at her and gave her a knowing look.
" Come on," Ted told her and they walked to the Hufflepuff Common Room.
Andromeda still didn't know how she felt about anything, but she followed Ted down the corridor.
Ted tickled the painting and led Andromeda through the common room. It was completely empty. She followed him into the dormitory. Ted's dorm mates were all asleep. So the two of them crawled into his bed and drew the curtains.
Andromeda felt drained, both physically and emotionally. She had expected a horrible reaction from her parents about her situation, so they're anger and violence didn't surprise her, but some small part of her had hoped that Bellatrix would be able to deal with it and love her through it.
But she hadn't, and tonight proved that.
Andromeda rested her head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around her.
" It's going to get better," Ted told her, " I promise"
Andromeda pulled herself closer to him, and hoped he was right.