I believe I was cursed from the very beginning. From the day that my mother named me. In our family, a name was more than just a name. It shaped who you would become.


My sisters fit perfectly into the molds set for them. Narcissa was beautiful. More than that, she was beauty itself. She was Mama's favorite because she was everything Mama ever wanted. Cold and beautiful, as proper ladies should be.


Bellatrix was adventurous and always carried a sort of wildness about her. She was beautiful in the way that black holes are beautiful. Dark and constant and consuming everything in her path. She was Papa's favorite because she was strong and unyielding and never showed fear. She was sure to follow in his footsteps.


But I, Andromeda Persephone Black, was never what my family wanted–needed–me to be. My name suited me well, as I always felt that I belonged in the night sky, laying on pillows of clouds and touching the stars with my fingertips. In a palace of marble and glass, I felt as trapped as a songbird in a golden cage. Reaching and longing to be outside, but it was just beyond my reach.


I learned at a young age that I would never have any sort of bond with my sisters. Night and day, fire and ice, black and white. They had no need for me. And no want either. I often heard Narcissa sneaking into Bella's room late at night. I never knew what they did there, only that they had a sort of closeness that I longed for. Yet I knew I would not find it there.


School provided a temporary escape. It was a place with people less cold, less demanding. My sisters were both sorted into the house of Snakes. I, however, was put into the house of Ravens. It suited my intellectual, detached personality well and provided me with people more like me.


But returning home always brought a sick sense of apprehension. With every moment inside the walls, I seemed to grow a little colder. More distant from emotions that I held so dear. I knew I had to escape before I became like them.


And so, one cool winter night, when I was but 15 years old, I packed my belongings into my school trunk. I left no note, no sign as to where I would be. I peeked into Bella's room, smiling slightly to see Narcissa curled into her arms. With a final sigh, I left.


I believe I was cursed from the very beginning.

But I also know that I broke free of that curse.

I, Andromeda Persephone Black, have reached the sky.

The clouds are soft and the stars are hot.

But I am where I belong.