Enter for the International Wizarding School Competition – Round 6 - Beauxbatons
Theme: Beauxbatons: Unmerited accomplishments
Year 7
Mandatory prompt: 3. [Dialogue] "I cannot begin to express the extent of my disapproval."
Optional prompts used: 4. [Emotion] Admiration
Special rule: None
Word count: 1,491
Warnings: AU! No Voldemort
Lost in her own invented universes
After graduating from Hogwarts, Bellatrix Black became the most amazing painter that the Wizarding World had ever seen. Her paintings were displayed all over Britain and in art galleries in Paris, making her the youngest artist to have so much success.
And all of it was a farce. Bellatrix could never have become the great artist that she was, if not for her sister. Bellatrix owed everything that she had to Andromeda, but the Wizarding World would never know this.
Ever since she was a child, Bellatrix had always admired the way that her sister could take a little bit of paint and turn it into something completely different. Just a touch of her brush, and the most beautiful paintings would come to life. Andromeda never needed magic to make art; she just needed to hold a simple brush in her hand.
"What are you going to paint today?" Bellatrix asked, entering Andromeda's study. "I'm sure it's going to be something beautiful — just like everything you've done so far."
Andromeda just smiled and continued to paint the landscape that reminded them both of Hogwarts.
Bellatrix sighed and turned around to look at the other pictures Andromeda had already painted; they all looked so peaceful and colourful, a direct contrast to what was happening inside Andromeda's mind.
The painting was a form of therapy for Andromeda after a spell incident in her last year at Hogwarts left her locked inside her own brain. Painting was a way for her to communicate with the world even though she could never speak again.
"You seem to be improving, Andy. This one is sure to be a hit with all the French women." Bellatrix could hear Andromeda humming, and she knew that it meant Andy agreed with her. She probably would have said something else if it wasn't for someone entering the study. Bellatrix had thought that they were alone, so she was surprised when she saw Narcissa at the door. She didn't want Narcissa near them, not when Bellatrix knew how her sister would react to the plan she'd finally put into action.
"What's going on here?" Narcissa asked, observing Bellatrix standing near one of the paintings. Seeing the way that Narcissa was narrowing her eyes at her, Bellatrix realised that Narcissa discovered what she was doing. "Oh, Bella, don't tell me you did it. I know that you mentioned doing something like this when Andy started her therapy, but I never imagined that you were going to actually do it."
"What? What do you want me to say? What could I possibly say that would change your mind about what you're seeing?" Bellatrix retorted, not backing down from the challenge in Narcissa's eyes.
"I cannot begin to express the extent of my disapproval," Narcissa said, narrowing her eyes at her sister and pursing her lips, before taking a deep breath. "What were you thinking? I should have known that you hadn't turned into a great artist overnight. It's just not possible!"
"I don't know why you look so disappointed — is it because I had this idea before you?" Bellatrix sneered, seeing the hard look on Narcissa's face. "You clearly aren't trying to understand? Nothing's going to change your opinion."
The sounds of distress from Andromeda distracted the sisters from their argument. Bellatrix felt the pang of guilt in her stomach for disrupting their sister, and Narcissa scowled at her, clearly accusing. Bellatrix didn't want to disturb Andromeda anymore, so she motioned to Narcissa to walk away.
Narcissa and Bellatrix left Andromeda in her study, and they went down to the living room. Bellatrix still lived in the old Black Manor, claiming that she wanted to help Andromeda in her treatment, but Narcissa had moved out to Malfoy Manor.
"You never thought about saying anything? How could you take credit for what Andy does?" Narcissa didn't beat around the bush, going straight for the jugular. It reminded Bellatrix that her sister was, first and foremost, a Black. "This is disgusting, Bella! Everyone is admiring the paintings, thinking that it was you who had done them, but all this time, it was Andy!"
"You're such a hypocrite. It's clear that Andy isn't going to do anything with her paintings, so why can't I use them?" Bellatrix replied, not seeing what was so wrong with what she was doing. "Let's face it, Cissy: if I hadn't done it, you would have done it. Don't try to deny it."
Narcissa took a deep breath and with a calm voice, tried to reason with Bellatrix. "Don't try to turn this on me; you're receiving gold and fame from what our sister is doing! How fair do you think that is?"
"It's not like she was going to make use of any of them! What's so wrong with letting people admire Andy's work? If I'm not selling them or being the face behind the paintings, who's going to admire them? No one!" Bellatrix finally let everything that she felt about this whole situation surface.
"You aren't here every day to see what Andy is going through or how she feels when I compliment one of her paintings. You don't know what's happening, and you come here accusing me! You don't have any right in any of our lives!"
"And you don't get to receive all the credit from Andy's work!" Narcissa shouted back, making Bellatrix lose all the colour on her face. Narcissa had never raised her voice towards her before. "Can't you see it? What good is you receiving all the compliments and admiration while Andy stays closed in a study, never knowing what's happening with her paintings?"
Bellatrix was taken aback by Narcissa's statement, since she never thought about Andromeda's condition the way that Narcissa was showing her. She just wanted people to admire Andromeda's work, but she knew that no matter what she did, her parents would never allow society to learn the truth about the Black daughter that was locked inside her own mind.
"I knew that you lived in your own world and didn't care about other people's feelings, but I'd always thought that you'd be different with Andy; it looks like I was wrong." Narcissa sighed and stood up. "I don't know what you're going to do now that I know the truth, but for Andy's sake, I'll keep my mouth shut and not say anything to anyone. I think you should think about what you're doing."
Narcissa stormed off in a fit of pique, but Bellatrix followed her quietly, watching her sister stop and watch Andromeda again in the study. Andromeda, lost in her own mind, painting like she didn't have a care in the world, and Narcissa, eying the paintings thoughtfully.
'I'm sorry, Cissy, but I'm in too deep now to back down.' Bellatrix wouldn't risk losing everything that she had conquered, not now.
"This is an amazing masterpiece, Bella! The colours and all the shadows that you put in this canvas are something out of this world," Rodolphus Lestrange said, looking at the new painting that Bellatrix was exposing at the art gallery that night.
Even after the conversation with Narcissa, Bellatrix didn't change anything and actually booked a showcase with Andromeda's latest arts. Everyone important in the Wizarding World was there to see what she had been doing since her last exposition. Bellatrix was basking in the attention, even if a small part of her told her that it was undeserved; no matter what, tonight was her night.
"Thank you, Rodolphus. This is one of my favourites." Bellatrix looked at the canvas: three little girls playing in an emerald-green field without a care in the world. Bellatrix knew that it was a memory from their childhood, and she couldn't be more proud of Andromeda for painting it — not that she was going to say that out loud.
"That means that it is going to be difficult for me to buy, doesn't it?" Rodolphus asked with a smirk that Bellatrix returned. "What's it going to cost me?"
"I don't know… this painting is very precious to me." Bellatrix tried to act nonchalant, but she wasn't fooling even herself.
"How about dinner? And then, we can discuss the price of this masterpiece and continue from there. I bet that you're going to love receiving all of my admiration." Rodolphus wasn't being subtle about his intentions, and Bellatrix was enjoying this little game more than she thought. She knew that she was risking someone finding out about her secret, but this was a thought for another day.
"Dinner it is. I just need to talk with some potential buyers, and we can go," she said, winking in his direction and walking towards the Bones family. The night was just beginning, and Bellatrix couldn't wait to bask in all the attention that Andromeda's paintings were receiving. It was like a drug, one to which she'd become too addicted to quit.