DISCLAIMER: I didn't create Harry Potter, however much I wish I had. All characters and everything else from the books are the property of JK Rowling.
Andromeda Black lay on her cold, blue satin four-poster bed, still fuming from her last fight with her mother, which had ended twenty minutes ago, according to the large grandfather clock in her room. Larissa Black had called Andromeda down to the sitting room (or the parlor, as Larissa insisted everyone call it.)
Andromeda had trudged down and seen her two younger sisters, Narcissa and Bellatrix, sitting primly beside their mother. Bellatrix, who was far prettier than Narcissa or Larissa and knew it full well, was smoothing the silk folds of her black robes and smiling rather evilly.
Andromeda was the eldest of her sisters at seventeen, but they lorded over her as though they were the oldest: "Andromeda, don't wear your hair like that, you look like such a git.", "Andromeda, get me that potion sample from Mother's cabinet now." Andromeda this, Andromeda that.
Now her mother had adopted a smile much like Bellatrix's and said forcibly, "Andromeda, dear, come sit down. By the way, your sisters and I were wondering why you haven't worn those robes before. They go so well with your hair."
Andromeda said nothing, but touched the blood red silk robes self- consciously. She supposed it was true, the robes did match nicely with her raven black hair, but she had the feeling her mother would have told her that a burlap sack went nicely with her hair if it would make Andromeda agree to whatever she was going to propose.
"What do you want, Mother? Bellatrix, stop grinning like that. You look like such a loon." Andromeda said as she took a seat across from the couch where her mother and sisters sat.
Bellatrix stopped grinning immediately and said coolly, "At least I'm not as thick as you, Andromeda. Mother wants to talk to us about our schooling. She thinks it may be better for us if we attend Durmstrang this year."
Andromeda opened her mouth immediately to protest, but her mother held up a pale, thin hand and cut her off. "Andromeda, either you fully hear me out or I shall be forced to put a Silencing Spell on you and force you to."
Andromeda stared at her mother in disgust. "Whatever," she muttered. "You won't change my mind."
Larissa looked pointedly at her own wand before launching into a long- winded speech. "Your father and I believe it will be best for the Black family in the long run if we show Lord Voldemort-"Andromeda gave a long shudder at the name- "our support early on. We believe that the best way to do this is to send you girls to a school that is...er...a little more focused on our beliefs."
"Your beliefs," Andromeda murmured.
"Andromeda, do not interrupt me again!" Larissa cried. "Lord Voldemort is getting ever stronger, and he will emerge victorious. We do not want to be casualties of the Dark Lord's wrath. Andromeda, your father insists that since you are the eldest, you should make the decision. Obviously, I disagree, but..."
Andromeda stood and turned to leave the room. "Andi," Narcissa whined. "Wait! What is your choice? Durmstrang or Hogwarts?"
Andromeda laughed. "You know my decision." she hissed. "I will finish my last school year at Hogwarts, and Bellatrix and you, Narcissa, will be with me." She turned back and again tried to leave, but this time her mother's voice stopped her. It was filled with venomous anger.
"Andromeda Selena Black, please do not make this mistake!" Larissa said. "Your very life could very likely be at stake here!"
"Mother, you are only worried about your own life," Andromeda shouted. "You don't care at all about the life of Bella, or Narcissa, and especially not me. Please do not try to lie to me; I can see right through you! You are a selfish, evil woman! I only wish I could run away from here like Sirius, and—"
"DO NOT SPEAK THAT NAME IN MY HOUSE!" her mother screamed, rushing to her feet and clutching her wand so tightly it looked as though it might break. "That- that- that boy is a traitor to our family and is not worthy to wipe slime from your robes; he is an abomination, a horror, he is--"
"HE IS MY COUSIN!" Andromeda screamed back. "HE IS MY COUSIN!" Then she began chanting his name like a small child, "SIRIUS, SIRIUS, SIRIUS--"
"STOP IT!" Bellatrix screeched. "Stop it! Can't you see what you're doing to poor Mother? Honestly, you git, you're the abomination."
Larissa had fallen back onto the couch, panting. Her face was splotched red and she looked as thought she might pass out.
Andromeda turned and stomped up to her third-story bedroom, a large room she had decorated herself in Ravenclaw colors. She locked the door and collapsed onto the bed, where she lay for twenty minutes, thinking about what her mother had said.
Larissa seemed to think of Sirius as this awful, rebellious teenager. Andromeda knew better. Smiling, she rolled off the bed and retrieved Sirius' latest letter:
Andi, I'm all settled in at the Potters'. James' folks are great. (By the way, he says hi.) How are you? Has your mother driven you to insanity yet? How about Bella and Narcissa? Are they still drones of your parents?
James has been teaching me some "new" Quidditch moves. (I learned all these ages ago.) He says you should go out for the Ravenclaw team this year, and I fully agree.
Well, James and I are going out to the field to practice Quidditch. Send me back a nice long letter (even though this one is so short) and Mrs. Potter says if you decide to leave, too, you're more than welcome here. Just send an owl in advance so we can hide the firewhiskey.
Sirius
Andromeda folded the letter back up. Her mood had changed completely in the thirty seconds it had taken to read the letter. Sirius could always do that to me, she thought, smiling.
She drew up a lengthy reply to the letter, including details of her recent fight with her mother. She ended it with this:
Sirius, I hope you find it funny and not provocative, the way Mother treats me. I know how you do that whole protective cousin thing pretty well—but I don't want "Sirius Black and James Potter Arrested for Assault of Larissa
Black" on the headlines of the Daily Prophet, okay? Promise me!
Tell James "hi!"
Lots of "cousinly love"!
--Andromeda Selena Black
August 18, 1976
Andromeda folded the parchment into thirds and stuffed it into an envelope, scribbling "Sirius Black, Potter House" on the front and tying it to her owl, Aphrodite's, leg. Aphrodite took off out the window, and Andromeda fell back onto the bed, suddenly tired. In a few minutes, she was asleep between the blue satin sheets.
For the remaining two weeks before school started, Andromeda had been going to Diagon Alley each day and buying one or two things she needed for school each day, dragging it out in hopes she might catch Sirius and James there.
Also, during her trips to Diagon Alley, Andromeda had been thinking about the career she would take on after school. In her fifth year, Andromeda had discussed it with her Head-of-House, Professor Flitwick. They had decided to focus her studies on subjects she would need to either become a professor there at Hogwarts or an Auror.
Brooding over it while Madam Malkin measured her robes, Andromeda wondered if she could maybe do both. Some months earlier, her mother had informed Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Andromeda about an organization to fight Voldemort called the Order of the Phoenix. She had told them some of the members, which included Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall, so Andromeda assumed it was possible. But what would Andromeda do about her mother if she chose to do that? It would be a double slap in the face—her own daughter, fighting Voldemort and teaching others to do the same.
There was a sudden shout outside. Someone was screaming her name. Andromeda glanced out the large picture window and saw Sirius, James, and James' parents—a tall, skinny blonde young woman holding the hand of a rather short, dark-haired man to whom James bore an uncanny resemblance.
"Sirius!" Andromeda cried, waving furiously. She held up her index finger and said, "One minute."
As soon as Madam Malkin was done with Andromeda's black school robes, Andromeda jumped off the stool she had been standing on, stuffed five Galleons into Madam Malkin's hand, and, grabbing her bag, ran out onto the street. She hugged Sirius tightly and said a very happy "Hello" to James and Mr. and Mrs. Potter.
"How have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!" Andromeda exclaimed to Sirius.
Sirius smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Andi, we gotta talk." he said.
James and the Potters took this as their cue to leave and they disappeared into Madam Malkin's shop.
Andromeda rolled her eyes, but allowed herself to be led over to a bench, where she took a set beside him. "Sirius, please. I know what you'll say." she said, but Sirius ignored her and said, "Andi, please. You need to get out of that house! Please, please come stay with me at the Potters'. I read your letter, and you can't stay there any longer. God, Andi, they're evil and completely despicable. Even you can see that."
"What do you mean, even I can see that?" Andromeda asked, her voice rising. "I know how bad they are, Sirius. But they're my family. With you it's easy, you hate your family. But I...I don't. Maybe I hate their actions and their views, but I don't hate them."
"But Andi, don't you see? Actions and views. Isn't that what makes up a person? I don't think you're seeing them. You're seeing some idealized family. You hate your real family, and it's obvious, even James can see it, and you know how thick he is." Sirius joked, trying to make her laugh.
Andromeda didn't even smile. "Sirius, it's my last year at Hogwarts. After this, I am gone. I'll get my own place, and maybe you can even come stay with me. Look, if it will make you feel better, I'll stay at school for Christmas and Easter break."
"Promise?"
"Yeah," Andromeda said, smiling. "Listen, can you come over today and help me pack? I guess I shouldn't have left it this long, but..."she stopped at the look on Sirius' face and quickly added, "Don't worry, Mother and Bellatrix and Narcissa are over for lunch at the Malfoys'. They asked me to come, too, but like I would want to. Anyway, do you want to come or not?"
"Yeah, I'll come. Do you mind if—"
"James comes? No, he can come, too, if he wants." Andromeda told him.
"What about Remus?"
"Who?"
"Remus Lupin. Short, blondish hair?" Sirius said. "He's visiting the Potters today."
"Oh—that pale little bugger? Sure, he can come too. Man, you all want to help me pack? I didn't know I was so loved!" Andromeda teased.
Sirius laughed, pushing her and pulling her hair down from its ponytail. It tumbled down almost to her waist. Sirius yanked out a strand of jet black, perfectly straight hair, ("ow!" Andromeda shrieked) and held it out. "Man, Andi, this must be almost three feet long!" he laughed. She scowled at him, rubbing the sore spot on her head.
Looking past Sirius, Andromeda spotted the Potters coming out of Madam Malkin's. She pointed them out to Sirius, and waited as he asked James to come to Andromeda's house and they told his parents where they were going. Both of them walked back to Andromeda.
"Hey, Andromeda," James said.
"Hi, James," she said. "Do we have to pick up-er-Remus? somewhere or what?"
"He said he'd wait by Flourish and Blotts," James said. "I'm sure he won't mind coming to help you out, either."
"Cool," Andromeda said. She thought she saw Sirius wink at James, but she just brushed it off, and the three of them walked to Flourish and Blotts.
As they reached the store, James turned to Andromeda and said quietly, "You really should leave, you know."
Andromeda groaned. "James, please. Don't. I know what you'll say...get out, you hate them, it's awful there...but I will, I don't, and it's not."
James looked very confused for a moment before he sorted it all out. "Whatever, Andromeda...I guess there are only two days until school starts...but Sirius does seem really obsessed with getting you to leave. Maybe he knows something you don't?"
"I don't care if he does..." she trailed off as she realized they were standing in front of Flourish and Blotts. Sirius was standing in front of the shop with Remus. Both of them were looking oddly at Andromeda and James.
"James, got a little crush on my cousin?" Sirius called out, half- jokingly. "Thought you were focusing on Evans, man."
A red flush crept up James' face as he replied hotly, "Sirius, don't be such a thick git. If anyone has a crush on Andi here, it'll be you."
"Me?" Sirius laughed. "James, she's my cousin. No offense, Andi."
"Yeah, none taken," Andromeda said quickly. After all, they were cousins. Just really close cousins.
But for the next hour, as she, Sirius, James and Remus went to her house and they all helped her pack, Andromeda couldn't quite forget what James had said— "if anyone has a crush on Andi here, it'll be you". What did he mean by that, anyway?
Finally, Andromeda had crossed off all the items on her list and James, Sirius and Remus walked out the door. "See you on the train," Sirius called as he left.
"See ya, guys," she called back and closed the door just as she heard her mother and sisters crash into the sitting room, having traveled by Floo Powder.
"Andromeda, where are you?" her mother shouted through the silence.
Andromeda jumped and said a quick little prayer of thanks that Sirius had just left before yelling back, "By—um, by the door, Mother."
"Well, get into this kitchen now," Larissa Black said irritably from the hall. "I need to speak with you girls about tomorrow."
Andromeda sighed, walking through the foyer into their large kitchen. Her mother and Bellatrix and Narcissa were sitting at the small kitchen table. Andromeda took a seat next to Narcissa and glanced around the kitchen. This tiny circular table looked almost lost in the immense room. Surprising, it was her mother's favorite room, out of the entire Black mansion. Andromeda had always thought that this was odd, as her mother made such a big deal out of using magic for every other little thing, but when it came to cooking, Larissa didn't allow magic in the kitchen.
"Mother," Bellatrix said suddenly. "Have you heard from Sirius lately?"
Larissa Black's whole body seemed to tense, Andromeda started, and Narcissa adopted a very strange expression—like a cross between a snarl and a scowl.
A scarl, Andromeda thought in the half-second before her mother spoke. Andromeda could see her mother was still tense, and was trying desperately not to explode like she had at Andromeda two weeks ago and Andromeda felt a sudden strong wave of jealousy. Why hadn't Larissa tried that hard to control her emotions with Andromeda?
"N-no, Bellatrix, darling. Wh-why do you ask?" Larissa said, her voice strained and high.
"Isn't that his wand?" Bellatrix said, pointing to the counter where a wand lay, lost in the counter as the table had been lost in the immense expanse of floor.
Andromeda jumped out of her seat and snatched the wand up. She saw the initials SRB in the handle and thought, Oh Sirius you great git you brainless flobberworm oh how could you! Andromeda stuffed the wand into her robes and said, her voice now as high and strained as her mother's, "It's...mine. I was, er, fixing a snack here earlier; must have forgotten it." She stammered to a stop and thought, Bella don't please, please don't say anything.
Bellatrix stood behind Larissa, who was still deathly pale, and smirked. "I caught you," she mouthed.
Andromeda's heart pounded so furiously she felt like she might pass out. "Don't you dare," Andromeda mouthed back. "Don't you DARE."
Bellatrix just smirked again and addressed their mother. "Mother, what were you going to say? About tomorrow?"
Their mother just dismissed it with a weak wave of her hand. "You...know...same thing...each year."
It was true; Larissa made almost the exact same speech each year. "It's your responsibility to represent the most ancient and noble house of Black..." "You must not be late to King's Cross Station tomorrow. Tardiness puts a stain on the Black family name..." "Don't make me have to send you forgotten things; pack everything you may need..." it went on and on.
Andromeda walked out of the kitchen, and headed to her room. Aphrodite was perched on her cage, a glossy envelope in her beak. Andromeda grabbed the envelope, threw it on her bed, and scribbled Sirius a note:
Sirius,
You GIT! You left your WAND here. Come and get it tonight at 6, they're going to some dinner conference.
--Andi
Andromeda folded the note, scribbled "Sirius" on the outside, and tied it to Aphrodite's leg. Aphrodite took off out the window and sat back on her bed, still angry and shaken.
If her mother had seen his wand and known Sirius had been in her house, on her turf, she would have never let Andromeda see Sirius again. How could he be so thick? For goodness's sake, her mother had nearly passed out...and it could have been so much worse!
After a few minutes to cool off, Andromeda grabbed up the letter from the bed beside her and looked it over. On the outside of the very thick, glossy envelope was a calligraphied "Andromeda Selena Black." Andromeda flipped the envelope over. The seal on the back had the Malfoy family crest. Andromeda sighed and slowly opened the letter. A single sheet of parchment fluttered out. Andromeda grabbed it before it hit the ground, wondering why the envelope was so thick if this was all that was in it, and read it:
Andromeda S. Black: Your presence is requested at a formal dinner party tonight, the 30th day of August, at the Malfoy family estate. Required apparel: formal dress robes. No R.S.V.P. necessary. Arrive no earlier than 6:00 post-meridian time.
Andromeda had barely finished the letter before Bellatrix burst into her room and announced, "We're leaving at five, and Mum says—" Bella paused. "What's that? Is that an invitation?" Without waiting for an answer, Bella jumped to where Andromeda stood and snatched the parchment from away from her.
Bellatrix scanned the letter slowly, let out a shriek, and ran down the twisting set of stairs, screeching, "Mother! Mother! Narcissa! Come quickly!"
Andromeda raced down the stairs behind her. As she got to the first floor, she saw Bellatrix, clutching the invitation in her perfectly manicured fingers, run into the kitchen. Andromeda skidded into the kitchen only seconds after Bella, but already Bellatrix was reading, "...arrive no earlier than six o'clock post-meridian time."
"I'm—not—going!" Andromeda panted, clutching the back of an empty chair at the table, breaking the stunned silence that followed Bellatrix's announcement.
"Don't be so difficult, Andromeda," her mother said, staring at Andromeda from her seat. "Of course you'll be going. Oh, dear, six o'clock? It's already two...we'll have to run to Diagon Alley right away...oh, dear...come, girls, you can help Andromeda find some suitable robes." Larissa and Bellatrix marched Andromeda to the parlor with the fireplace and Floo Powder. Narcissa, who was deathly afraid of traveling by Floo Powder, lingered by the doorway, tense and pale.
"Narcissa Circe Black, there is no time for your fears! There are only four hours until the Malfoys' dinner party, and Andromeda doesn't even have robes to wear yet! Andromeda, you go first." Larissa forced Andromeda into the fireplace and shoved a handful of Floo Powder into her hands. "Over to Flemington's, then, dear."
Andromeda sighed loudly and threw the powder down, shouting, "Flemington's Robes!" Immediately she was caught up in a whirlwind of color and green flames. Andromeda pulled in her elbows so she wouldn't hit anything—she had learned to do that the hard way.
After about sixty seconds, Andromeda was pushed out of a fireplace in Flemington's by an invisible hand. She landed gracefully on the dozen or so large silk cushions surrounding the hearth.
Mr. Flemington, a tall, thin man, rushed over to Andromeda and bowed deeply. "Miss Black! My, you've grown! Excellent! I suppose you'd like to see some more mature styles, yes..." he spoke very quickly as he looked Andromeda up and down, his eyes glinting with delight. "Yes, yes...a V- neckline would be really lovely on you...yes...oh! Mrs. Black! How lovely to see you!" Andromeda turned back to the hearth and saw her frail-looking mother pick herself up from the pile of cushions.
"Mr. Flemington! Gorgeous to see you, I'm sure," Larissa exclaimed. "My daughter Andromeda over there has merited an invitation to the Malfoy dinner party tonight!" she paused as Narcissa crashed onto the cushions, closely followed by Bellatrix. "Anyway," Larissa said, "Andromeda is attending the party tonight, and she has nothing to wear!"
Mr. Flemington looked as though he might explode with joy as he practically shouted back, "Excellent! Wonderful! Mrs. Black, I was telling Andromeda just how simply gorgeous a V-neckline would look on her. Now, I believe that either a blood red or a midnight blue would look best on Andromeda, and of course we carry only the finest quality dress robes, and all of our slippers are magically dyed to exactly match the robes. Right this way, ladies." Mr. Flemington led her mother and sisters into an aisle filled with mostly blue and red dress robes and the shoes to match.
For the next hour, Andromeda browsed the shop, extremely bored, while her sisters and mother selected robes for her. Finally, Narcissa came running over, clutching deep midnight blue velvet robes and their matching shoes. "Try these on," she ordered. "We think they're best." Andromeda rolled her eyes, but grabbed the robes and slipped into a dressing room. When she emerged a few minutes later, Mr. Flemington was basically jumping up and down, smiling hugely with delight, and even the normal smirk had disappeared from Bellatrix's face, replaced with a half-grin. "Wonderful," Larissa said. "We'll take these. These are sure to impress the Malfoys."
As soon as Andromeda reappeared in their parlor fireplace after her sisters clutching the Flemington's box, Narcissa seized her arm and dragged her to the bathroom, where she shoved Andromeda into the stool in front of the vanity mirror and began to curl select pieces of hair. "Stop! What are you doing?" Andromeda shrieked and stood up quickly as the magically heated iron burned her forehead.
"Mother wants me to fix your hair, so shut up and sit down!" Narcissa said, pushing Andromeda back onto the stool and picking up her hair and the curling iron again. For what seemed like an hour, Narcissa curled, straightened, and smoothed select pieces of hair, using her large collection of hair products, until Andromeda's hair was tumbling in curls down to her waist. "There!" she said. "If you hadn't fidgeted so much, I'd have been done long before now. Bella!" she called downstairs. "Your turn!"
"What?" Andromeda groaned. "No. Please! I don't even want to go to this stupid thing. Tell her to stay down there!"
But too late—Bellatrix came marching into the bathroom, carrying her bursting makeup bag in one hand and a blanket in the other. Bellatrix threw the bag onto the table and draped the blanket over the mirror. "No peeking till I'm finished," Bella said to Andromeda. Narcissa and Bellatrix both left, but Bella came back in a few moments dragging a small stool behind her. She set up the stool opposite Andromeda's, opened the overflowing makeup bag, and began to put makeup on Andromeda: eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, blush, concealer, lipstick, lip gloss, and tons of other things Andromeda didn't even know the name of.
Bella led Andromeda into the hall, told her to wait there, and went and got the blanket from the vanity mirror in the bathroom. She walked into Andromeda's room and after a few moments told Andromeda to come in. Andromeda came in, rolled her eyes at the blanket over her mirror, and walked to her armoire, where Bella stood, holding Andromeda's new robes and slippers.
Ten minutes later, Andromeda was fully dressed, made-up, and curled, straightened, smoothed, and everything else to within an inch of her life. Bellatrix called for their mother and Narcissa and took the blanket off of Andromeda's mirror. Although Andromeda definitely did not like the idea of going to the Malfoys' dinner party and dressing up and everything, she had to gasp when she saw her reflection. She looked like something out of a fairy tale—her normally dead straight black hair was now beautiful, curly, and flowing down her back, her makeup looked amazing, and the robes really did look wonderful on her. She was beginning to think the Malfoy party might not be so bad, if only because she got to look like this.
Two hours later, Andromeda stood in front of the Malfoys' mansion. Four terrifyingly real-looking stone gargoyles guarded the double doors. Andromeda was still ten minutes early, so she leaned on a gargoyle to wait. She didn't know why she had let her mother convince her to do this, she—
The doors flew open. Andromeda jumped and stood up straight. She looked up to see Lucius Malfoy standing over her, his cropped platinum blonde hair shining in the sunset. "Andromeda, it's so lovely to see you," he said smoothly, smiling down at her.
"Lucius! It's nice to see you, too. I know I'm a little early, so..."
"Oh no, not at all. You've come just in time, the Minister just arrived, also," Lucius answered quickly. "Come in, come in. I'll take your cloak." He took her hand and led her into the immense foyer of the Malfoy mansion.
"You look gorgeous," Lucius whispered in her ear as he took her cloak. Andromeda felt her face redden. When she answered, her voice was strangled and high.
"Well, thank you. I...your house looks absolutely beautiful. Are you expecting a lot of very important guests tonight?"
"Oh, not really, I mean, the Minister is the most 'important' of the lot." Lucius said. "Father insists we invite lots of stuffy old men."
"Well, the Minister seems like a rather important dinner guest." Andromeda said, laughing rather nervously.
Lucius smiled as he handed her cloak to a passing servant. "I suppose. But Father sees you, Andromeda, as the most important."
Andromeda stared up at him. "Me?" she laughed again. "What? Why?"
"Well, he must have his reasons, but I have mine, as well. You must be the prettiest girl at Hogwarts. I couldn't miss having someone like you at an all-important Malfoy dinner party, could I?" Lucius flashed her a brilliant smile, and she giggled like a stupid school girl. So Lucius Malfoy had a crush!
"I guess not," Andromeda replied teasingly. "We wouldn't want you missing out on Andromeda Black, now would we?" she smiled at him. "So when is dinner?" she asked, glancing at the thin silver watch on her wrist.
Lucius caught her wrist and examined the watch. "Oh, dinner's at six- thirty. This is a brilliant watch. Looks like a Gregorvitch original piece—oh man, where did you get this?"
"Mother bought it for me last summer on holiday in Bulgaria," Andromeda pulled her wrist out of his grasp and looked desperately around the mammoth foyer for someone else, so maybe Lucius' attention would be focused on someone other than her. Why had she been flirting with him? He was a Malfoy! They were as bad as her own family, if not worse. What if his father thought she like Lucius and tried to set up an arranged marriage? It had happened to her mother, after all!
"We've still got forty minutes until dinner," Lucius said, looking at his own, rather thicker, wristwatch. "Would you like a tour of the Malfoy estate?" he grinned at her and she found herself smiling back.
"Sure, why not?" she replied. He grinned again and took her hand in his and began leading her around the mansion.
The tour was actually quite interesting. The Malfoy house had many secret passages and staircases, all of which Lucius took her through. Finally, he led her out of a back parlor into the garden. Andromeda gazed around, absolutely amazed. She felt as though she had walked into paradise. A large, very beautiful fountain stood in the middle of a stone courtyard, which was surrounded by hundreds of gorgeous plants and flowers. She looked up at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, sending orange, red, and purple streaks across the sky. She walked to the fountain and stared into the water. Lucius stood behind her. "Lucius, it's so amazing," she whispered and gave a slight shiver of joy. He turned her towards him.
"So are you," he whispered, smiling. He bent his head slightly and gave Andromeda the most amazing kiss she had ever had in her life. She kissed him back and leaned her head against his shoulder. They stood there for quite a while, watching the sunset together. Andromeda thought she must have lost her mind. She was standing there in Lucius Malfoy's arms, having just kissed him, and actually enjoying it.
"Lucius," she murmured, "I—,"
Suddenly, a large barn owl swooped down upon them and dropped a slip of parchment at Andromeda's feet. She snatched it up and read it quickly, cursing her luck:
Andi,
Come to your house NOW! It's an emergency!
-James Potter
"No!" Andromeda moaned quietly.
"What is it?" Lucius asked quickly, looking genuinely concerned.
"I...I guess I have to leave," Andromeda said, looking sadly into his eyes. "I'm sorry. I...it's James. He says there's an emergency. I...I have to go. I...I'm really sorry, Lucius."
Lucius looked extremely disappointed. "Er, okay. Why? What does it say?"
Andromeda handed the paper to him and he scanned it, then sighed and said, "Okay. The fireplace is in the parlor we just came out of. There's Floo Powder next to it. I guess I'll see you Monday on the train." He gave her a quick kiss and then walked over to the fountain. He sat down on the far side. Andromeda couldn't see very well, as dark was quickly falling, but she thought she saw him drop his head into his hands. She sighed and walked back into the parlor. She located the fireplace, stepped in, threw down a handful of Floo Powder and shouted, "Sixteen Grimmauld Place!"
She was caught in a tornado of sound and color, with green flames licking her ankles. After two minutes, she fell out of her fireplace onto the cold stone floor of her sitting room. Looking up, she saw Sirius sitting hunched over on the couch, James next to him.
"Here, she's here, man," James said quietly to Sirius.
"Oh my God," Andromeda said as Sirius raised his head. One of his eyes was swollen shut, there were at least six cuts on his nose, a huge bruise was blossoming on his cheek, and his lip was cut and swelling. She picked herself up off the floor and walked over to Sirius. "Why the hell didn't you go to St. Mungo's?" she snapped at him. "Who did this to you?"
"Snivellus," Sirius muttered, his bruised face now glowing bright red.
"SNAPE?" Andromeda shrieked. "Severus Snape did this to you?"
"Hey, hey, calm down," James said. "Believe me; Sirius did ten times worse to him."
"Why the hell didn't you go to St. Mungo's?" Andromeda asked again.
Sirius apparently couldn't talk too well, so James answered for him. "I tried to take him," he said, "but he said he wanted you to come. He thought you were here."
Andromeda paled. "I was at...at Lucius Malfoy's. Oh, man. Come on, Sirius, you've got to get to St. Mungo's. NOW!"
Twenty minutes later, Sirius was walking out of St. Mungo's, fully healed and joking around with James. "Come on, Andi, why do you still look so upset? I'm fine now," Sirius said, pausing to look at her on the street.
"Why am I so upset? You pulled me out of an important dinner party at the Malfoys' to come to St. Mungo's with you!" Andromeda replied heatedly.
"Well, I'm sorr-ee!" Sirius said. "I didn't know I was interrupting an Andi/Lucius snog fest here!"
This was so close to the truth that Andromeda looked away, her heart beating very fast and her face red. She heard Sirius give an astonished shout. "Andi, you're JOKING, right?"
She turned back to look at him. She was shaking with combined anger and embarrassment. "No, I am NOT joking. I was having an excellent time with Lucius, and you ruined it because you're too much of a baby to go to the hospital without me there to support you."
Sirius gaped at her, apparently lost for words. James stood behind him, a shocked expression on his face. "Damn, Andi..." James said. "Lucius Malfoy?"
"Shut up!" said Andy. "Besides, what am I supposed to tell Mother? I can't very well tell her I had to leave because Sirius went and got himself beat up by a pale, greasy little sixth year!"
James snickered a little at Sirius' dumbstruck expression.
"Well, I'm sorry," Sirius said finally. "Next time I'll be sure not to ruin your date with that git Malfoy."
"Good!" Andromeda yelled at him, and stomped off towards her house, her long curls tangled and limp and her dress robes dirtied from walking the streets of London.
As she neared home, a tall, thin figure walked out of an alleyway on her right. As it got closer, she saw it was Snape, and he was limping steadily towards her.
"Andromeda Black?" he tried to call, but it came out more of a whispered moan. "Is Sirius with you?"
"No," she called back. Her voice was shaking. She'd heard awful things about this kid.
"I need help," he croaked, and as he limped into the light, Andromeda almost screamed. James was right; Sirius had done ten times worse to Snape. Andromeda forced herself to look up at Snape again. His face was a twisted, ugly mess of bruises. His cheeks, mouth, and both eyes were swollen. Snape's leg and right arm were cut and bloody and he was clutching his stomach; Andromeda though maybe his ribs were broken.
Andromeda shuddered at his disgusting appearance. "You...you should go to St. Mungo's. D'you...do you know where it is?"
"No," Snape answered. "Tell me. Now!"
Andromeda lost all of her pity for Severus Snape in that one simple word—she couldn't stand people who thought they could boss her around. "Down this road, to the right, in an old abandoned shop. Don't expect my help anytime in the future," she added as he grunted and limped away. She smiled slightly as she realized she hadn't told him how to get inside the hospital.
What a creep, Andromeda thought before continuing home.
The next day, Andromeda ran around making sure she had packed absolutely everything. Earlier that morning, she had given her mother some stupid excuse as to why she had had to leave the Malfoys' last night. She wasn't sure her mother believed her, but Larissa hadn't commented.
Now Andromeda folded her freshly cleaned new dress robes and laid them inside a trunk with her initials stamped on it, next to the matching shoes. She needed robes for the Holiday Ball, and only Lucius Malfoy, her mother, and her sisters had seen these, so they'd be fine. Andromeda scanned her list. She'd checked everything off each of the three times she'd checked her trunks.
Andromeda dragged her two trunks and a smaller suitcase behind her. She'd packed the suitcase full of Muggle clothes she'd gotten in the shops in London, because every other week in her Muggle Studies class they'd be taking a trip to a Muggle town and be graded on how they interacted with Muggles, how well they could manage Muggle money, and how well they dressed in Muggle clothes.
She dragged her luggage down the stairs and into the foyer, where she set the trunks and suitcase down by the door and then ran back to her room to get Aphrodite and her cage. She skidded into the room, grabbed Aphrodite's cage and went and dropped it by her trunks. When she returned to her room, a large eagle owl was on top of her armoire, a short note in its beak. Andromeda took the note and the owl flew off through the open window. She read the note quickly:
Andromeda,
Meet me on Platform 9 ¾ tomorrow at 10:30 AM. You left your cloak at
my house on Saturday night.
-Lucius Malfoy
August 31, 1976
Andromeda felt a slight chill of excitement at the thought of seeing Lucius again, and went downstairs to tell her mother she needed to get to the platform early.
The next morning, Andromeda and her sisters walked to King's Cross Station. Larissa made them pull their luggage behind them each year the whole way to the station. When Andromeda asked why they had to do this, her mother had responded that it was simply the way she had always done it as a student at Hogwarts.
Still, Andromeda thought as she dragged her two trunks, her suitcase, and Aphrodite's cage behind her, it wasn't very sensible. Both of her trunks weighed about eighty pounds, the suitcase weighed about fifty, and Aphrodite's cage was about ten—that was about 220 pounds all together!
Behind her, Bellatrix and Narcissa were complaining, as they always were, about having to get up an hour early and having to pull their trunks behind them.
After twenty long and painful minutes of walking, they finally arrived at King's Cross and dumped their trunks (with the help of a discreet Lightening Spell by Mother) into a trolley. They walked to the brick barrier between Platforms 9 and 10.
"Oldest to youngest," said her mother, and gently pushed Andromeda toward the barrier. Andromeda stood right in front of the barrier, said goodbye to her mother, and leaned into the barrier as a group of American tourists walked past, talking and snapping chewing gum.
Andromeda fell right through the bricks and onto the platform. It was so early that the Hogwarts Express wasn't even running yet, and the platform was empty except for Lucius Malfoy and his parents, who were standing right in the center.
She pushed her trolley over in his direction as Narcissa and Bella appeared on the platform and looked around, obviously disgusted by its emptiness. Andromeda walked to Lucius, smiled at him and his parents, and said, "Hey," softly.
His parents smiled broadly at her and, saying goodbye to Lucius, walked back through the barrier.
"Hey," Lucius said, a note of cockiness in his voice. He held her extra cloak up and said, "You left this at my house on Saturday."
"Right," she said. "Thanks." She took the cloak from him, popped open her trunk and laid it in neatly. "I...um," she stammered, unsure what to say. "I should probably go, I mean, I...um, have to change and save a compartment for everyone. Thanks. I'll...bye." Andromeda began to walk away, and then paused for a moment before abandoning her trolley, walking back to Lucius and kissing him. She smiled and whispered, "See you at school."
Without waiting for an answer, she walked back to her trolley and boarded the train, slipping into the first compartment she spotted. Her heart was racing and she felt dizzy and just wonderful. She was sighing with delight as she changed into her school robes and dropped into a seat, so ready for the school year to start.
Thanks for reading the first chapter of Toujours Pur. Please review it so I can make it better! The second chapter should be along soon. Rachel