"TRIGGER WARNING!(Also spoiler)
This chapter contains elements of sexual assault. Please feel free to skip this chapter if this is triggering for you. You will still be able to follow the story just fine.
"Thank you, Star, but I can manage from here." Andromeda almost regretted those words. The few fastenings Star had managed to loosen on her had just made breathing possible. Once Andromeda spoke, Star paused. She did not, however, bow and leave the room, as was house-elf protocol.
"Is something amiss?" Andromeda asked, trying to keep her voice polite despite her frustration. To her chagrined, Star flinched. Andromeda had always been kinder than the rest of her household when it came to the house-elves, but she supposed disobeying a direct order from her mistress was still shaky ground for any house-elf.
" I'm sorry, mistress Andromeda. It's just that… The Mistress insisted." She didn't elaborate, and Andromeda didn't need her too. They always referred to her mother simply as "The Mistress," and always with that same tone of fear.
Andromeda tried to keep her voice steady as she said, "I will handle my mother." She even gave Star a smiled the two of them could almost believe was real. She could see the uncertainty in Star's eyes, and she felt a pang of guilt that she was asking this of Star. Due to Andromeda's kindness, Star had often gone out of her way serve Andromeda, she hated to put her in a compromising position. But she needed to be alone right now.
Star didn't dare disobey a direct order twice, so she bowed and scurried to the door. Just before she closed the door behind her she turned and said:
"Mistress Andromeda?"
Andromeda turned in surprise. It was uncommon for house-elves to speak out of turn. Not that she minded, it just caught her off-guard.
Star smiled. "You look very pretty."
This time Andromeda's smile was real. "Thank you, Star."
When Star finally left, Andromeda turned toward the mirror. "very pretty" was one way of describing her appearance. Overgrown, albino peacock would be another. Her wedding robes were so covered in lace and beads it was difficult to believe there was fabric underneath. Though the robes were tight at her waist, they fanned out into a full skirt that was wider than her arm span, easily. The fabric was layered all the way to the floor, like feathers. Her sleeves were probably her least favorite part. They were tight until the reached her wrist, at which point that fanned out until they were practically dragging on the floor. And then their was her headpiece. It was a thick ribbon tied around her forehead to hold a fan-like arch behind her head. She supposed it was supposed to make her look royal, but it was where her peacock metaphor had come from.
In short, she was everything a bride from the most ancient and noble house of Black should be, and she hated it.
She sighed. Her wedding was tomorrow, so this was her final fitting. The next time she wore this dress, she would be Mrs. Rabastan Lestrange.
A month ago, that had been the only thing that comforted her. The knowledge that she would soon be with Rabastan, her only ally in her darkened world. And she would finally be able to figure out what was happening to him, Rodolphus, and Bella. That had been a month ago, now she was not so sure even that would bring her comfort. Rabastan had only grown more distant this past month, and he was spending more and time with his brother. In fact, the two of them were practically inseparable, and they were always sharing dark looks and sinister snickers. Rabastan seemed to be becoming more and more like Rodolphus, and with everything she knew about Rodolphus, that frightened her. But things would change once they were married and he began spending more of his time with her. They had too.
"My, my you do look dashing."
Andromeda felt chills run down her back at the familiar drawling voice. She whirled around to find Rodolphus leaning against her bedpost. The look he gave her only made her heart beat faster.
"How did you get in here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm. She had a feeling Rodolphus was like a Hippogriff. He could sense fear and weakness.
"Your house-elf let me in," he leered. She shuddered to think what that encounter had been like for Star. But she couldn't blame Star, Rodolphus would have made her life miserable if she had refused.
Andromeda, however, did not have to follow suit. "You shouldn't be here." She lifted her chin, hoping she sounded forceful.
"You know, I didn't expect you to be so compliant with my last request." He pushed himself away from her bedpost and stalked forward. She immediately stepped back. "I thought you'd show more resistance, but you've become quite the docile little fiancé, haven't you?"
Despite the deafening pounding in her chest his words brought, she felt her temper flare up. "You need to leave. Now," she thought she sounded an awful lot like Bella, which could only be a good thing in a situation like this.
But Rodolphus only smiled lazily. " But I made a promise to Rabastan."
That derailed her. "What sort of promise?" Her curiosity was genuine, but her fear was real.
Rodolphus didn't respond right away, but he stalked toward her. She found herself instinctively backing up, until she was pressed against her vanity. Her hand reached out and clasped the edge of her counter to steady herself.
Rodolphus stopped when he was about a foot away. His eyes looked her over again, and she suddenly felt very much like a rabbit about to be consumed by a wolf.
"I promised I would loosen you up for him tomorrow," He smiled darkly, and then lunged.
Andromeda barely had time to react as his body slammed into hers. She should scream, she knew she should scream, but her brain couldn't process what was happening. That was, until Rodolphus squeezed her breast hard enough to make her gasp. But just as the scream was on the edge of her tongue, his wand pressed against her throat, and the scream vanished from her lips.
"Now, now, none of that," he whispered soggily in her ear.
She feared what he had done, but she had to know for sure. She opened her mouth to scream, but she heard nothing but silence.
Once again, her fear became immobilizing. She could feel him flumbling with the rest of the fastenings Star hadn't managed to undo. But she couldn't stop him, she couldn't breathe. This had to be a dream—or nightmare—but it couldn't be real.
He undid the last fastening, and she felt her bodice slip off, exposing her shoulders and upper chest. It also meant his hand could slip inside her skirt and run down her—
It was like someone flipped a switch in her brain, pulling her out of her stunned silence. She screamed again, even though nothing came out, and smacked Rodolphus as hard as she could in the chest. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but it was enough to make him stumble away.
For a minute he looked shocked, and that gave her just enough time to glance at her nightstand, where her wand lay. She cursed herself for not having it closer, but there was nothing she could do now. There was no way she could reach it before Rodolphus would reach her. Her only hope was to somehow move closer without him realizing what she was doing. And the only way she could think to do that was to end up on the bed.
She swallowed the bile that rose in her throat and tried to keep herself from shaking.
"You little cu—" he didn't even bother to finish the insult before he slammed into her again. She gasped as she felt herself being shoved toward the bed. Her heart seemed to stop as she slammed into bed, as did her ability to breathe.
Rodolphus didn't want for her to catch her breathe, her forced her body up, until there was enough space for him to climb on top of her. As she felt his legs wrap around her hips she panicked again, and her arms lashed out. Her hand connected with something, and he cursed again. The next thing she felt was his wand pressed against her throat.
"Enough. Or I will make your life extremely painful." He pressed his wand harder into throat, as if to prove his point. She gasped in pain, but let her body go limp. Her eyes glanced at her nightstand again. Her wand was right there, but she couldn't get it now. She would have to wait until he was distracted.
"Look at me," he snarled. She didn't want to. She didn't want to see the reality of what was before her. But she had no choice. Slowly, she turned to face him.
He had her straddled, and now he stood over her. Looking very much like the hunter who had just cornered his prey.
Chuckling, he took one finger and started stroking her face. "My brother was very understanding of my request," his hand continued it's path down her neck. She flinched when it passed over her breast.
"After all," he leaned in, pressing his lips to her ear again. "Once I have you I'll have the complete set."
She gasped at where his hands went next, and not in pleasure. He pulled out his wand again and made a striking motion. At first she couldn't figure out what he'd done, until she felt the cool breeze on her inner thigh. He'd cut open her dress, to make sure it wouldn't get in the way.
She squeezed her eyes shut again, like she could make this go away, but she couldn't. She opened her eyes again and saw him leering down at her, as his hands moved to untie his robes.
She knew she needed to wait until he was distracted and then grab her wand. Physically he was stronger than her, but magically she stood a chance. But the idea of what was coming next was too much for her. She lifted her knee and jammed it into his groin as hard as she could.
He cried out, but she didn't wait to survey the damage as she reached for her wand, just before her fingers clasped around her handle some sort of magic pulled her back, the next thing she knew her hands were pinned at her side by some unseen force.
Rabastan was leering at her again. "I told my brother you needed to be broken in, but he didn't believe me." His soggy lips moved to her again, "At least now I can tell him how to do it."
She closed her eyes again, hardly daring to breathe, as he continued. It would be over soon, it had to be. Or someone would come, anyone. Rabastan…
Her eyes shot open. According to Rodolphus, Rabastan knew what his brother was planning. But that couldn't be true, could it? There was no way Rabastan would betray her like this.
"I have to tell you, Andromeda. While your sisters were both quite delectable, there's something… inspiring… about the fight you are giving. Certainly better than Narcissa. She was so compliant. It was boring."
Images of Narcissa lying in the same position as her raced through her mind, and fury flared through her bones.
She screamed again, and this time, it was audible. Not only that, she felt something race through her, like wind, and the next thing she knew, Rodolphus's weight on her body was gone. She didn't hesitate this time, she reached for her wand and got it. She whirled back around just as Rodolphus got up off the floor. For a minute both of them stared at each other in shock. She had performed magic without her wand. She had heard of this happening with muggleborn children before, since they weren't used to controlling their magic. But it had never happened to her. Except for now. And now it meant she had a wand, and Rodolphus didn't.
He realized this at the exact same moment, and his smile faltered, but only for a second.
"Think of your next move very carefully, Andromeda. There's no need to make a big deal out of this."
"Big deal?" She was so furious she could barely speak. "You tried to—" she couldn't bring herself to say the word, but Rodolphus took her hesitation as a moment of weakness.
"According to you. But who do you think they are going to trust? The word of a loyal pureblood, or a known blood traitor? No one would be surprised a muggle-lover such as yourself tried to seduce her future brother-in-law, slut that you are." His smile turned darker. "Or do think they'll even care.? They'd probably thank me for putting you back in your place."
Andromeda just stared at him, his breathing still coming in shallow gasps. She wanted him to be wrong, because admitting he was right was admitting he would get away with this. But as her fury began to fade and reality set back in, she knew that was exactly what would happen.
"Get out," she snarled, not lowering her wand. She wanted so badly to make him suffer, but she knew if he did, he would snitch on her without hesitation. And her life would become more miserable than it already was.
He smiled, but she could see the anger in his eyes. Fury that she had got the best of him, that he hadn't gotten what he wanted from her.
"This isn't over," he promised, and she knew he meant it. "My brother and I share everything, he'll make sure you become mine. You'll see. You can't betray your own blood."
And with that chilling promise he grabbed his wand and went out the door.
A thousand ideas for curses raced through her mind as she watched him retreat, but none of them came out. Soon he was gone, and she was alone.
For a minute, she just stayed there, in silence. The only sound was the steady ticking of her grandfather clock in the corner. She didn't move, just listened to that ticking, until her heart was beating in time with the ticking. Then, slowly, she pulled her knees up tight against her chest, like her legs could somehow keep her from falling to pieces. Protect her from the things she didn't want to feel. But the thing was, she could feel them. She could feel his hands, his sweat, his saliva, his…
Her body started shuddering, and she couldn't make it stop. The shudders seemed to spread all the way through her, consuming her. She wanted to cry, she needed to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. It was like they were trapped insider her.
She'd stopped him, before he'd gotten what he really wanted, but that was a small comfort. Especially considering his final word. His belief that Rabastan, her future husband, would give him another chance to rape her in the future. And then all his other words. Telling Rabastan that he would loosen her up before the wedding, that he would break her in… but that wasn't the real reason he wanted her. The complete set, that was what he had said. All three of the Black sisters.
She shouldn't be surprised he had slept with Narcissa, nor Bella, now that she came to think of it. There were few pureblood boys Bella hadn't slept with, if the rumors were to be believed.
Had Rabastan known that too? Known that was why Rodolphus wanted his future bride?
She put her head in her hands. This couldn't be true. Rodolphus had to be lying. Rabastan would never do this to her. He cared for her.
But he cared for Rodolphus too. And the two of them had been as thick as thieves recently. Had this been what they'd been laughing about? Discussing all the things the two of them were going to do to her in bed?
She didn't want to believe it, and she wasn't sure she did. But she couldn't say she disbelieved it either.
And tomorrow she would become Andromeda Lestrange. She would be moving to the Lestrange estate, where both of the Lestrange boys still lived. Rodolphus would be under the same roof. And Rabastan wouldn't always be around. Rodolphus would have plenty of opportunity to try again. More so if Rabastan didn't try to stop him.
Her shuddering stopped, and now her body felt strangely numb. She knew that was temporary though. It would only be a matter of time before everything she was refusing to feel came rushing back, and then she would break.
Slowly, she lifted her wand up. She didn't know what she believed anymore, but she knew she couldn't stay. She had to get out, now, before it was too late.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to concentrate. There was only place she wanted to go. She knew what part of the country it was in, and a few extra details. That was all he'd ever told her, but hopefully, it was enough.