The feud begins. Ahahahahahahahahaha

Dora


The day had started off with promise. Andromeda had finally won Bella's confidence enough that the woman was willing to teach her even more Dark Arts that would aid her as a Death Eater. This Bellatrix had promised to do, agreeing to Andromeda's condition that Nymphadora knew nothing about it.

Bellatrix was highly amused at how much Nymphadora seemed to hate her mother, but Andromeda had accepted that months ago when Nymphadora had stopped speaking to her. Both witches knew it was far better for Dora to be none the wiser considering Andromeda's further training.

This morning, Andromeda sat with Narcissa, Teddy, and Draco, playing with Elara as she waited for her Summons. Bellatrix still preferred Summoning Andromeda over setting a time to meet, but Andromeda found that to be a lot easier than it sounded. She barely noticed that the Malfoy boy kept glancing at her, or the nervous magic he kept having to hold back. It was something she normally would have frowned upon, but with her excitement about her lesson with Bella, she did not pay any attention to it.

The very second her Mark burned, she was on her feet, leaving Elara to Narcissa as the blonde witch whispered, "Be careful."

"Of course," Andromeda smirked, her wand in her hand as she turned and strode from the room. Unbeknownst to her, Draco reached into his pocket and touched the coin Ginny had managed to connect to two others. The coins burned, letting them know Andromeda was on the move.


In Ginny's room, Nymphadora jumped in shock and Ginny grasped her hand tightly. "This is it!" she hissed. "Do it now!"

Dora raised her wand, pressing her lips together tightly before she performed the Disillusionment Charm. "There," she breathed. "It's good. Very good, in fact. I think MadEye would be proud." She shook off her memories and rushed to the doorway. "Hurry!" she said, then hugged the red-haired witch tightly. "Be careful," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "Warn them not...not to trust me. Please, Ginny."

"I'll tell them the truth," Ginny said firmly, then rushed off along the hall. She silently sneaked along after Tonks' mother, though it wasn't necessary for her to be absolutely silent, as Andromeda's swift stride was unmistakably heard through the hall. She stayed far enough behind the witch that Andromeda could not have felt her magical signature, but as they approached the edge of the ward, Ginny took a deep breath. It was now, or never.

Ginny Weasley rushed forward at the same time Andromeda walked confidently toward the ward: it would have to work, or they would all suffer.


The instant Andromeda stepped through the ward, she took two strides and stopped, feeling something very wrong, something that she had never felt before. There was another person's signature against the ward just as she had left... Andromeda looked back and forth, her wand raised in case someone was about to attack, and finally cast a revealing spell on the hall. "Weasley!" she hissed, fear and anger suddenly flooding through her body. "What do you think you're doing!"

"Leaving," the girl rolled her eyes. "I don't like the accommodations."

"How did you get through the—" Andromeda drew a sharp breath: she had been used. Anger blurred the pain of her Mark, and she pointed her wand at the Weasley girl. "You are not getting away, Ginevra."

"She is." Nymphadora stepped through the ward, her wand pointed at her mother as Ginny drew her wand as well.

"HOW DID YOU GET THAT WAND?!" Andromeda demanded angrily of the Weasley girl, completely bewildered at what was happening.

"I gave it to her." Draco walked out of the ward, completely defenseless, looking at his aunt firmly. "Mum refused to use it because it was a Weasley's."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You said it was because—"

Draco glared at her. "Shut up for once, Ginevra."

"It is hers," Dora shrugged. "You shouldn't have been allowed to keep it, or even give it to Narcissa."

"Nymphadora, what are you doing?" Andromeda looked at her daughter in despair. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"You should think about that before you drag MY FRIENDS TO THIS PLACE!" Nymphadora snapped in fury, her hair shooting red.

"We don't have time for you two," Draco told Andromeda and Nymphadora. "If it's going to be a duel, go for it. Otherwise, Andy, doesn't your Mark burn? Merlin help you if you put off answering it."

Andromeda stared around at them all. "It won't work," she whispered. "Dora, don't do it."

Nymphadora didn't move, her wand steadily pointed at her mother. "Go distract Bellatrix as long as you can, or I swear to Merlin, you will not walk away from this in one piece."

"Dora," Andromeda whispered. "This is how you need to be to others. Not to me."

A curse burst from Nymphadora's wand, and Andromeda parried it before she turned away from them and rushed down the hall, shielding her back in case they attacked. She did not know what she was going to do, but her Mark certainly hurt much more now than she'd ever let it get to before.


Nymphadora turned to Ginny, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. "You're out," she sniffed. "Go, before Mother decides to turn you in again—" She jumped as the Weasley girl flung her arms around her and hugged her tightly, making her begin to cry in earnest.

"Shh, Dora," Ginny said softly. "It's going to be okay. We're going to find a way out of this. I'm keeping this coin: it's a start. Hide them as soon as you can."

"Please stay safe," Dora wept. "Please."

"I promise," Ginny answered, then firmly pulled away from the crying witch. "Oh, come back here," she said to Draco as he stepped back and made a shooing motion. His ears turned red when she hugged him just as tightly as she'd hugged Nymphadora, making the other witch laugh through her tears. "You aren't all terrible," she said to him.

"That is something you can keep to yourself," he retorted, pushing her away. "Now get moving. You're running out of time."

Ginny bit her lip, staring between the two. "I'll see you again one day," she promised. "In a better world." Then she rushed off down the hall.


"You're not paying attention!" Bellatrix shrieked at her sister, Andromeda hissing in pain as the curse grazed her back, purposely missing their target. "'Oooh, Bella, I'm sooo excited but I can't even focus for two minutes!' You'll turn out like Nymphadora yet!"

"It's not that simple," Andromeda said through gritted teeth, the Dark magic swirling through her torso. "I've got to think it through—"

"Think it through one more time and I'll have you on the floor!" Bellatrix snapped. "You should be able to do this by now! What is your problem today? Did Nymphie yell at you last night? It has been a while since you mention her talking to you. Has she ceased all communication? Why do you care? This is an opportunity that I could not give you unless the Dark Lord had given express permission! When you slack off, you are just as uncooperative and ungrateful as your filthy brat! Do you not want this opportunity, Andromeda?"

Andromeda held back a retort and pointed her wand at the victim, shutting out all thoughts except for her intent. The moment the spell left her wand, the door burst open, and Bellatrix breathed, "My Lord, what may we do for you?"

The man smirked at her, his presence making it a thousand times easier for Andromeda to focus on the curse. "I've come to see Andromeda's progress," he mused, glancing at the other witch. "After all, she must prove she is worthy of such an honour."

"She will!" Bellatrix said earnestly, her eyes bright until she too glanced at her sister with a slight pout. "Well, if she could concentrate."

"Not Nymphie again?" the Dark Lord mused. "Rodolphus doesn't keep her quiet enough?"

Bellatrix just giggled, though shot a glance at her sister as if to say she knew how Andromeda felt about such things. "I would imagine he makes her very irritable, My Lord," she grinned. "After all—"

The Dark Lord and Bellatrix suddenly stared at each other, both of them turning to Andromeda at the same time. "My—my Lord?" she said nervously. "What is—?" Terror flooded through Andromeda as she was flung by magical force against the wall and held there as if by her throat. She choked, knowing she would be unable to defend herself against her master's magic. Andromeda wanted to scream that it wasn't her fault, that she hadn't known, that no one had asked her permission to do such things, but she could not make a sound.

"You knew!" the Dark Lord hissed at her. "The Weasley girl's magic is gone from the wards—" He gave an unearthly hiss as he strode forward, pulling up her left sleeve as he grasped her arm, beginning to Summon the Inner Circle.

Andromeda writhed in pain, tears streaming down her face at the feeling of that much magical intent flowing through her arm. She held back a scream of agony as the Dark Lord's faithful ones began to arrive, most of them uncomfortably entering the room. None of them spoke, though as they noticed her, her hair hanging down in front of her face, they began to mutter to each other.

"Silence!" the Dark Lord snapped, his anger radiating through the room like poison. "I should not have to explain to any of you that were within these wards that the Weasley girl has escaped. The culprits will be brought to justice. Take your sections: search for the girl. Rodolphus, Dolohov, Rabastan, Avery, I want the residents of the Prisoners' Ward brought to me here immediately."

Rodolphus turned and walked out the door, the rest scrambling to follow him. Andromeda fell to the ground as the magic released her, the witch crying out as she landed, curling into herself as she did not even try to get up. The Dark Lord was immediately before her, gripping her hair as he pulled her to look at him. "Show me what you know," he said coldly.

"She walked through the ward as I was Summoned!" Andromeda cried, fighting his invasion on her mind. "I didn't know she was going to do that, or even that it could be done! She ran off before I could stop her, and then I didn't know what to do! I didn't mean to let her get away!"

"You have no excuse!" the Dark Lord snapped, cursing her without a second thought. "You are a pureblood, Andromeda. You know about wards and how she could have been easily found before she escaped the house!"

"I forgot!" Andromeda shrieked through the pain, tears streaming down her face as she couldn't even fight the pain of the curse. "I haven't exactly had a pureblood home in decades!" The woman yelled out in renewed agony as her words seemed to only anger the man further. She lost control of her arms, striking out as she tried to get relief from the torturous agony of the curses, but it was no use. She struggled helplessly, her pain clouding her mind as she desperately focused on not screaming that it was Nymphadora's fault—again.

She didn't feel much difference when the curse lifted, though she felt the people walking into the room and turned her head so her hair would cover her face. She heard Nymphadora's gasp of horror, and Teddy's cry of fear, Narcissa's soft shushes as she held him back. Andromeda curled in on herself more tightly, trying to silence her cries and quiet her sobs.

"Nana!" Elara said in horror from her father's arms, and Rodolphus shushed her, embarrassed. "Nana's hurt!" she cried.

Bellatrix, who had been silent up til now in inexpressible outrage, whirled on Rodolphus and yelled, "Keep her quiet, or I will silence her once and for all!"

Narcissa clapped a hand over Teddy's mouth as he went to yell at Bellatrix on Elara's behalf. "Do not speak, Teddy," she spoke softly into his ear. "Not a word."

Elara stared in fear from her suffering grandmother to the seething black-haired witch now glaring at her, and the red-eyed man that looked at each of them so coldly. She didn't understand why her father didn't yell back at this woman like he always yelled at her mother. As the Dark Lord approached her mother and Aunt Cissa, Elara heard her father murmur, "Shh, Elara. You're safe with me."

"You know why you have been called here," he said quietly, looking from Nymphadora to Draco to Narcissa. "The Weasley girl escaped from the Manor. Surely you must have known she was gone from the Prisoners' Ward?"

"She is no concern of mine," Draco muttered in distaste. "She might have been taken for interrogation, and I wouldn't have cared."

"I agree," Narcissa said quietly. "I did not concern myself with her habits."

Nymphadora just shook her head. "I told her not to try it," she muttered. "I didn't think she could do it...I told her she'd be killed, but...she wouldn't listen." Dora looked up hopelessly. "How could she if we couldn't?"

Andromeda wondered how long it had taken them to come up with the plan and excuses that sounded so perfect. She could feel the Dark Lord's anger, and was almost certain that it would be again unleashed on her soon. She closed her eyes, trying to accept her fate, whatever it would be, though she couldn't help hating her daughter and nephew slightly for doing this to her.

"The Weasley girl is weaponless though, isn't she?" Rabastan asked with a frown. "Where is her wand? We don't have it..."

"She has it," Andromeda forced herself to gasp hoarsely. "She stole it from my room..."

"WHAT?!" Bellatrix screamed at her in rage, suddenly down on the floor in her face as Andromeda yelled in pain at being rolled onto her back. "YOU NEVER TURNED IT IN?"

"It was...your mission," Andromeda groaned with a bitter grimace meant to be a smirk. "Your responsibility. Your fail—" She screeched in pain under Bellatrix's outraged curses for mere seconds until the Dark Lord ordered her to stop. Andromeda panted in exhaustion, tears trickling down her cheeks still.

"Enough," the Dark Lord said, too calmly for the comfort of anyone in the room. "Return the rest of the prisoners to the ward. Bellatrix and I will deal with Andromeda."

The suffering witch lay on the floor, watching the others being led from the room as Bellatrix continued to stare down at her sister in rage. "You betrayed my trust again!" she hissed. "This is the end of your training, Andromeda. You'll have to deal with what you already know and can ask of others. I do not have the patience for your games!"

Andromeda didn't reply, unable to muster the strength to argue anymore. If she knew Bellatrix at all, the fun was just beginning.


"You just blamed Andromeda for everything!" Narcissa cried, staring from her son to Nymphadora. "How could you do that to her?"

"She deserves a little discomfort after what she's done to me, and to my friends," Dora answered calmly.

"She's lucky she's not dead!" Narcissa practically screeched at her. "She's your mother, Nymphadora. You served her up to the Dark Lord and Bellatrix as fresh meat!"

Draco stepped forward, reaching out and placing a hand on his mother's shoulder. She brushed it away, and he said firmly, "Mother, please calm down. We didn't set her up to take the blame. We were fully prepared for her to tell on us. I did not expect her to lie about the wand, though."

Narcissa looked into Nymphadora's cold eyes, then turned to her son and wrapped her arms around him, bursting into tears. "I can't believe it worked," she wept. "And you're okay."

"For now," Draco said softly, embracing his mother carefully. "Unless they manage to break Andromeda and find out the truth. Her memories, Mum...if they see them, we're in trouble. You won't be, but Dora and I will."

"It isn't her fault," Narcissa sniffed against his shoulder. "Draco, it's wrong."

"And I will attempt to awkwardly apologise later," Draco reassured her. "I didn't mean for her to be blamed like she was. I really thought she would just tell them that we overpowered her and forced her to distract Bellatrix for us. She didn't say a word, Mum. You saw."

"She was in too much pain," Narcissa whispered, looking up at her son through teary eyes. "I don't want to lose her, Draco. I was just getting used to her again as a Death Eater."

Draco sighed, half noting that Dora had walked out on the conversation. "She constantly changes, like Dora, but in her own way," he said. "I don't know what will happen to her, Mother, but I'm fairly certain she'll return to us."

Narcissa closed her eyes, feeling her son wipe away her tears gently. "I don't want to lose any of you," she whispered. "I don't know how I can take care of Teddy this evening. Rodolphus is bound to visit Dora tonight after all this excitement."

The young man nodded slightly. "I'll amuse Teddy for a while," he said after a moment, "if you'll put him to bed for me."

"All right," Narcissa answered gratefully, squeezing his hand. "Thank you."

"Of course, Mother," he murmured, kissing her head affectionately before pulling away and leaving the room. He did hope Andromeda survived the ordeal, but as he had told his mother, he didn't know what was going to happen.


Andromeda stirred slightly, pain breaking into her consciousness. She tried to move, even slightly, but gave a muffled cry of agony. She registered someone sitting by her, but couldn't turn away no matter how much she wanted to. "Cissa," she said hoarsely, closing her eyes tightly. "Cissa..."

"There—there's nothing I can do," Narcissa whispered, her hands in her lap. "I don't even know where to begin, you're such a mess."

"Narcissa," Andromeda pleaded, "I need a potion, or something. Please. It's—it's too much."

"Where is your wand?" the witch asked, getting to her feet.

"I—I don't know," Andromeda sniffed, turning her face away from the witch. "I don't remember." Tears of pain began to trickle down her cheeks, the woman unable to bear the suffering. "Cissa, please," she whimpered.

Narcissa bit her lip, raising her right hand and holding it out toward the door. "Accio Nymphadora's wand," she said firmly.

Andromeda felt her sister ward the room against Dora as best she could, hoping it would hold until Narcissa was able to help her at least a little. She couldn't help yelling in agony, clutching at the sheets as Narcissa tried to unwind the Dark Magic from her body. Her entire body shuddered in pain as tears streamed down her face, the witch trying to hold still in the midst of it all. A scream came from her, making Narcissa jump slightly, though the blonde woman did not waver in her work.

It was several minutes later when Narcissa finally straightened up, wiping the sweat from her brow as she looked down at her wretched sister. "That's the best I can do," she said, biting her lip. "It's bad, Dromeda."

"I—I'll recover," Andromeda whispered. "I hope." She closed her eyes as she curled up against the pain. "Leave me alone now."

"Are you sure?" Narcissa said hesitantly. "Shouldn't I stay here to make sure you're all right?"

"If there's nothing further you can do," Andromeda breathed, "you might as well stay away. I won't be much for conversation."

"You really should talk to Dora," Narcissa said hesitantly. "You two need to—"

"I don't need anything from her!" Andromeda snapped. "The less trouble out of her, the better. And I have nothing more to say to her, anyway." She stopped just short of telling Narcissa that Rodolphus could have Dora for all she cared. She did care: she just hurt too much to think about these things properly. "Go away," Andromeda pleaded. "Take care of the children."

Narcissa looked at her sister in concern for a few moments, then sighed. "If you need something, call me," she told Andromeda firmly. "Actually, you know what..." she pointed the wand at the bed and muttered a long incantation, lacing a ward over the bed. "I'll know to come help you," she said, half proudly, and Andromeda almost smiled. "Okay. Good night." She leant down and gently kissed her sister's forehead before turning and going to the door, turning off the light. "Good night," she sighed again before finally leaving.

Andromeda lay curled up on the bed late into the night until she'd become numb to the pain and was finally able to fall asleep.