"Andromeda if I have to tell you to stand up straight one more time I will wrap this necklace around your throat."
Andromeda's back instantly straightened as she gasped. Her mother had never exactly been kind, but she'd never spoken so violently before. This wasn't really the time to make a fuss about it though, not if she wanted to survive the evening.
"Mistress?" One of the house elves timidly peaked her head into the room. "Your guests are arriving."
"Already?" Her mother snapped. "Well, did you invite them in?" She didn't really ask the elf, more snarled at her, which was probably why the elf threw her arms over head her head as her mother stormed past. Mrs. Black paid no mind to her though as she rushed out of the room.
Andromeda started to breathe out, only to realize that the corset wrapped around her robes prevented her from doing so. She waved her hand, making the various instruments and make up brushes that had been magically working around her fall to floor, before turning to the mirror. She thought she looked… nice, or at least well-groomed. She was sure her mother would find something wrong with her appearance, but if their guests were already arriving, then there was no time to fix it.
Pushing her worries aside, she gathered up her skirts and followed her mother out of the room. She'd never been a fan of her family's yearly Christmas party, but this year she felt like she was walking into a horde on Inferi.
Her sisters were already there, having not required their mother's personal attention in order to get ready. Neither of them looked at her as she entered the room. She was used to that behavior from Bellatrix, but from Narcissa, it stung.
Their first guests looked up at her entrance, unfortunately. Her stomach clenched as she saw Rabastan. Too her surprise his polite nod was accompanied by the faintest of smiles. His parents on the other hand, merely looked her down, their eyes narrowed like they were inspecting her.
Andromeda felt her pulse quicken under their stare, even though there was no way they'd know about her recent unpureblood-like behavior. Still, there was something in their eyes, especially Mrs. Lestrange, that made her feel like they could see right through her.
"Does your daughter make it a habit of keeping people waiting?" Mr. Lestrange huffed, lifting his nose in the air.
"Please, father." Rabastan rolled his eyes. "Andromeda was just making a dramatic entrance."
Andromeda couldn't hide her surprise at the callous way Rabastan spoke to his parents, or the fact that he was defending her too them. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice her reaction. If anything, her mother was glancing between the two off them with an odd expression on her face, like she was trying to smile.
"Where's your elder son?" Her father asked Mr. Lestrange.
"He had some last-minute business to attend too." Mr. Lestrange replied. Andromeda perked up. Rodolphus wasn't coming? Perhaps this party would be bearable after all.
"He said he'd join us later," Mr. Lestrange finished, and Andromeda slumped. She should've known better than to get her hopes up. She couldn't help but glance at Narcissa guiltily. She still hadn't told anyone about Rodolphus. She'd spent the last couple weeks of term finding excuses to keep the two of them occupied, and she'd taken to sleeping in the common room to keep Narcissa from sneaking out. She wasn't having midnight rendezvous with Ted anymore, so she had the time.
None of these were permanent solutions though, she just didn't know what else to do, short of confronting Rodolphus herself. She had a feeling that would just make things worse.
"Oh, look, the Malfoy's are here," Mrs. Black said, and the party moved into the room aptly named the greeting room.
Rabastan stayed behind so he could fall in step with Andromeda. When no one was looking he leaned down in her ear and whispered, "You look really beautiful."
He didn't say this the way he usually did though. His voice wasn't low and seductive, but soft, and gentle. He smiled at her again, and she returned it. But as soon as he looked away she flushed guiltily. She had been paying him a lot more attention lately, but that mostly so she could keep tabs on Rodolphus.
Still, she couldn't ignore the tiny flutter in her heart as she followed Rabastan out of the room.
Earlier she thought the party was going to be like walking into a horde of Inferi. Now she wished it had been a horde of Inferi. Every time someone spoke to her or even looked her as she flinched. It was like she expected them to start screaming 'blood traitor' and hurl hexes at her.
And that was the easy part. The hard part was listening to them talk about him.
"I can't say I agree with his approach," Mrs. Flint said, "But I have to admire his commitment to the cause."
"Perhaps he's right though," Mr. Mulciber said. "We've been playing the obedient children to the ministry for so long, and what has it gotten us? Nothing. Pure magical blood has never been in more danger."
"But is challenging the ministry really our best course of action?" Mrs. Flint countered. "They may be riddled with Mudblood-lovers, but without them there's nothing but chaos."
"But this is our very survival we're discussing," Mr. Mulciber said. "His measures may be extreme, but at least they're getting result."
Andromeda shuddered. If the rumors we're too be believed, his measures were more than extreme. Mudbloods, blood traitors, and anyone who opposed the so-called Lord Voldemort were reporting mysterious attacks, some of them so severe the victims had been sent to St. Mungos. Others who had openly opposed his views had suddenly changed their minds without any clue as to why, and some were disappearing entirely. So far, the ministry had been unable to prove any of it, but many people were convinced Lord Voldemort and his followers were behind it.
"Well, it's about time someone did something about the Mudblood scourge," Mr. Carrow, Amycus and Alecto's father, interjected loudly. "They're breeding like rabbits. Soon they'll be more of them than us!"
Andromeda could see where Amycus got his intellect from. The muggleborns already out-numbered them. Purebloods were a dying breed.
"You work at the Ministry, Augustus," Mrs. Flint said, "What do you believe?"
Andromeda recognized this man. Augustus Rockwood. He'd been a prefect when she'd first entered Hogwarts. From what she'd heard he'd become an unspeakable, someone who works in the department of Mysteries.
"The Ministry understands the Lord's position," Rockwood said smoothly, "but maintains its stance that muggleborn magic is viable, and therefore they are a legitimate part of our society."
"But what do you think?" Mrs. Flint pushed.
Rockwood smiled politely. "The seas of change are upon us." His gaze almost seemed to turn toward Andromeda. "It's time to choose which side you'll be on, before it's too late." Maybe she was just imaging it, but their seemed to be something sinister in his smile now.
She stood up suddenly. Their manor was ginormous. There had to be somewhere she could go where she could get away from all this pureblood talk.
She wove her way almost violently through the groups of people. People gave her dark looks, which all quickly vanished once they realized who they were glaring at. She ignored them until she finally escaped from the main rooms.
The parties used to be better, back when Sirius would come. With the help of their uncle, Alphard, the two of them would steal food and then hide out in the towers, pretending to duel each other. She smiled. Regulus and her sisters used to join them too, but that had been ages ago. A different time, almost.
Finally, she made it too far end of their dining room, before heading beyond it toward the kitchen. She doubted anyone would be over here. She had just reached the end of the hall when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around just in time to see Rodolphus slip through doorway, tugging Narcissa along behind him.
Blood rushed through her as her heart pounded painfully inside her chest. She hadn't even noticed Rodolphus had arrived, and now he was carting her sister off to do God knows what to her.
As quietly as she could, given her panicked condition, she crept forward. She almost couldn't hear herself over the sound of blood rushing through her ears as she reached the edge of the hallway and peered around the corner.
Rodolphus's hand was firmly gripped around her sister's elbow. He opened a door and started to drag her through it. Narcissa resisted. Andromeda could hear her saying something, but she couldn't make out what it was. It sounded like she was begging. She'd never heard Narcissa begging before.
Rodolphus lifted his fist, and Narcissa flinched. There was something weird about it though. It was half-hearted, weak. Like his raised fist wasn't a shock to her little sister.
Andromeda had clap her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming.
He didn't hit Narcissa, but that was because she stopped struggling and followed him into the room, her head down.
Andromeda gasped as the door closed behind him.
What should she do? She couldn't do nothing. She couldn't leave her baby sister to that monster. But she couldn't confront him. Rodolphus had no reason to be afraid of her. What if her interference only made things worse?
She collapsed against the wall, her head in her hands. She was so tired of this, of feeling helpless. Unable to protect the people she loved.
Suddenly she wished Ted was here. Not because he'd know what to do—she'd always been the one to think up a plan, as his plans never went the way they were supposed to. No, she wished he was here because he'd make her feel like she could do something. Like she was powerful.
"Hello? Nar— "Andromeda looked up as someone came around the corner.
"Oh." Lucius Malfoy broke off as he caught sight of her. "Andromeda. I didn't expect to find you here."
She nodded, then stopped, staring at Lucius Malfoy like she had never seen someone so magnificent in her life.
She had an idea.
"That's funny." She smiled, before sauntering forward. "Because you were just the person I was looking for."
He raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She couldn't blame him for being surprised. This was probably the first time she'd spoken to him without being surrounded by other people.
She just smiled again. "I heard you claiming Malfoy Manor had more rooms than any in England." She slipped her arm in his. "Care to let me prove you wrong?"
His surprise became even more pronounced at her obvious flirtations, but he hid it well. Malfoy was as much a bully as the rest of them, but he was subtler, which made him slightly more tolerable.
He smiled, before gesturing forward. "Be my guest."
Andromeda smiled, but as soon as they started walking toward the door her heart resumed its rampant rhythm. She had no idea what they would find beyond those doors. If they were lucky it would just be Rodolphus and Narcissa kissing. If they were not, well, she was going to have to hope Malfoy wasn't a misogynist like his friend.
"Our first example." She could barely keep her hands from trembling as she opened the door.
She breathed out a sigh of relief as the door opened. They were only kissing, and it wasn't like the last time she'd stumbled upon them. Rodolphus didn't have Narcissa pressed against the wall. In fact, he looked almost gentle as he held her. Somehow this made the sight of them all the more sickening.
They sprang apart as the door opened. Andromeda might've felt a sense of gratification at the mutinous look on Rodolphus' face, if it wasn't for the terrified look on Narcissa's. It was a moment before Andromeda remembered she was supposed to look horrified as well, or at least shocked.
Rodolphus recovered much more quickly than Narcissa did.
"I didn't expect to run into the two of you here. Together," Rodolphus drawled. Andromeda almost blushed at his implication, but Lucius replied without hesitation, "Andromeda was just providing me with a quick tour." His gaze quickly drifted to Narcissa, who seemed unable to meet his eyes.
"If you were involved with someone, Narcissa," he lifted his chin., "you could have just told me."
His voice was polite enough, but his jaw was doing strange things. It was tight and clenched, like he'd just swallowed something particularly sour but was trying to hide it.
Narcissa reddened at his comment, but otherwise didn't say anything. Andromeda glanced between the two of them, eyebrows raised. Clearly, she was missing out on something, as Rodolphus smirked at Lucius' comment. That only seemed to make Lucius jaw work harder.
Whatever he meant, Lucius' presence had done more than she could have hoped for. Both Rodolphus and Narcissa looked shaken up but the exposure of their secret. She could only hope it be enough to bring Narcissa to her senses, or at least get their relationship out of the dark.
"I— I should go." Andromeda almost winced at the sound of Narcissa stuttering.
With another fearful glance at Rodolphus, she scurried past them. Andromeda tried to catch her eye as she hurried past, but Narcissa ignored her. Lucius didn't look at her as she scurried out, but he stiffened as she brushed passed. Andromeda furrowed her brows together at this, but she didn't have time to sort it out. She had her sister to worry about.
As she turned to go she heard Lucius say, "Have you had a taste of the Brandeberry wine yet, Rodolphus?"
Men. Always thinking with their stomachs. She could barely keep herself from being sick as she slipped back out into the party. She glanced around, but Narcissa was nowhere to be found. Frowning she stepped back into the hallway. Maybe she'd gone back another way. It seemed unlikely that she wanted to be around people just now. Andromeda wouldn't have.
She looked back just in time to see someone slip down the hall, but it wasn't Narcissa. It was Rodolphus, and close behind him was Lucius.
Her brow furrowed again. There wasn't any specific rule against guests wandering through their house unattended, but it was considered rude. Also, it seemed odd that the two of them should be going somewhere together, considering how tense things had been between them just moments before.
She should really keep looking for her sister, but her curiosity got the better of her. Besides, considering how things were between the two of them, Narcissa probably didn't want to talk to her just yet.
As quietly as she could, she followed after them. It felt weird to be sneaking around in her own house, but something in the way them kept glancing over their shoulders told her they didn't want anyone to know where they were going.
Finally, they turned into one of the many unused rooms in the Black manor.
Her confusion only became more pronounced. Was this just a secret rendezvous among boys? The Slytherin seventh years were all pretty close, she wouldn't be surprised if they'd planned to host their own mini-celebration during her parents' party. Still, her curiosity wouldn't be satisfied until she knew for sure.
She slipped soundlessly into the room next door. She felt an odd sense of nostalgia as she gently closed the door behind her before creeping over to the closet. She and her sisters used to play hide-and-seek in these rooms. Andromeda had always won, because she had a secret. Many of the rooms on the first floor were connected by metal grates. They appeared to be solid walls, but when you looked close enough, you could easily see into the other room. It allowed her to stay one step ahead of her sisters.
Andromeda peered through the gate, and then had to clap her hand over her mouth to keep from gasping. She'd been right about the seventh year Slytherin boys being there, but they weren't the only ones. She instantly recognized her cousin, Regulus Black, as well as several of the boys from her year. Both of the Carrows were there, as well as several others she didn't know by name, but she knew them by reputation. They were the ones responsible for the attacks at school.
And standing at the front of them room was none other than her sister, Bellatrix Black.