She appeared with a pop at the top of the hill, unnoticed by any of the guests below. A slight breeze brushed away the stray black curls from her face, revealing a pair of dark brown, heavily lidded eyes that gazed out at the reception party emotionlessly. Snapping out of her gaze, she walked towards a large board decorated with royal purple ribbons and scattered rose petals. It floated in midair, magic enabling it to be propped up at eye-level without an easel. Written at the top, in perfect calligraphy, were the names of the bride and groom: Andromeda Black and Ted Tonks. Below, listed in alphabetical order by surname, were the names of the invitees. It was a short list, to be sure; it was obvious that most of the bride's family was not to attend. But there were only two names which the woman wanted to find.
For a moment, she hesitated, uncertain of what she would find. A week ago, all she had wanted was to be sure of her mother's accusations, to confirm whether or not the immediate family of the bride had even received an invitation. She had waited impatiently, and somewhat apprehensively, for the arrival of an invitation to her house of Lestrange; when none came, she had brushed it off, convincing herself that an invitation to her sister's wedding was sure to arrive at the Black mansion, with her name included. However, as Druella Black repeated edgily, none had arrived.
With a hard swallow, the woman pushed past the initial apprehensive hesitation that always precedes the revelations of a harsh truth.
She allowed her fingers to glide down the paper, leading her dark eyes as they searched for the surname 'Lestrange' among the handful of other guests whose last names began with 'L'. Her heart dropped as her finger glided down, down, finally reaching the 'M'. She took a deep breath before turning her attention to the list underneath the cursive 'B', which contain more invitees than had 'L'. She kept her breath steady and her mind quiet as she scanned the names, her heart a tightening knot in her stomach.
Her finger froze on the first "Black" that was listed. She held her breath as she read the name: Sirius Black. Her heart twisted painfully as she glanced down, searching for the rest of the Blacks, the rest of the family who should be listed down as guests to attend the reception party.
Sirius wasn't just the first Black to be mentioned – he was the only Black.
For several minutes, she just stood there, gazing at the poster board, her stomach churning as the laughter and music from below drifted up to her ears. They had not been invited; she had not been invited. They had shared everything, had held each others' secrets, and had guarded each others' backs. Their friendship, their memories, their childhood... how quickly it all seemed to lose its worth. She stood, shaking slightly, as realization washed upon her. Andromeda had chosen to give it all up - all of it - for him. Him! A worthless Mudblood, a disgrace to the wizarding world, a disgrace to their name! For him, Andromeda had turned her back on her family. For him, she had chosen to betray her sisters.
Something nasty clawed inside her belly, screaming and raging war within her. Something prickled at the corners of her eyes, but the woman shook her head angrily, refusing to let it continue. The tightness in her chest was overwhelming, suffocating. With a trembling hand, she reached into her robes, drawing out her wand. She barely thought as her hand lifted, her lips parted to release a hex, and jets of blue shot out from the tip of her wand. She didn't stick around to watch as the gazebo was eaten by flames; she disappeared just as quickly as she had appeared, cursing the Mudblood who had stolen her sister from her.
**edited**