CHAPTER 7
Conflicts Arise

The owl post, on a beautiful morning of autumn, brought with its news much uproar and much conflict. The Minister of Magic, Nobby Leach, had just presented a new law meant to incorporate better the Squib population into both the muggle and magical worlds. While some students fervently defended the act, others passionately discarded it as garbage. Conflict emerged, however, when Bellatrix stood on the bench of the Slytherin table and raised her voice to say that this was the start of decadence.

Over at the teachers table, Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick made to stand up, obviously outraged, but did not have a chance to be heard. Some Gryffindor boy, whose name Andromeda thought to be something along the lines of Caradoc Dearborn, had also risen from his table to claim boldly that 'Decadence is what you bring to this world with your backwards extremist ideas!'. Half the Slytherin table jumped to their feet then, so half the Gryffindor table did the same, imitated by the ever-loyal Hufflepuff table. When Andromeda glanced, she saw many Ravenclaws standing up as well.

'Go back to licking your muggles' arses, you filthy muggle-lover!' shouted Valentine.

'MUDBLOOD LOVER!' roared Curtis for emphasis.

'That's enough,' came the distant voice of Professor McGonagall. It was soon drowned by the tumult of the Great Hall, however, and Andromeda, still seated, could only send her way waves of sympathy.

'YOU GO BACK TO YOUR DUNGEONS!' squeaked a tiny red-haired boy at the Gryffindor table.

'YEAH!' added his identical twin brother.

'SCUM LOVERS!'

'INBREEDERS!'

'YOU'LL DIE FOR THIS!'

'MY FATHER WILL SEND YOU ALL TO AZKABAN!'

'YOUR FATHER IS THE ONE AZKABAN WAS CREATED FOR!'

'ENOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!'

Silence followed the booming call of the Headmaster. Andromeda laid back on her chair and bit her lip. Dumbledore looked furious. Under his large beard, he was fuming, and his blue eyes shone dangerously behind his half-moon spectacles. She looked around and found Narcissa's eyes. Her sister looked just as worried as she felt.

'This has been enough!' Dumbledore said, cold fury audible in his voice. 'I will not have my students behave that way in this castle! Neither will I tolerate the unabashed display of bigotry and prejudice to which we have just been submitted!' The Headmaster marked a paused while unhappy mutters flowed through the Slytherin table. 'Let me be clear on this matter,' he continued in his usual calm voice once the muttering had died down. 'A wizard's worth is not determined by his ancestry (Andromeda felt a shiver creep up her spine) his blood, or even his magical ability. A wizard's worth is determined by his capacity to reach out to others and give as much as he takes. A wizard's worth is determined by the size of his heart, not the force of his magic, not the renown of his name.'

Another silence. Longer this time. It dragged, Andromeda felt. It dragged too long. Yet when it ended, Andromeda found herself missing it: Bellatrix had risen from her chair and wordlessly stormed out of the Great Hall. Sophie, Valentine, Curtis, Felix Rosier, Carlisle Bulstrode who was a classmate of Andromeda's, and even younger students like Terrence Travers, Hermann Nott, Florian Parkinson and Lucius Malfoy, all soon followed.

Andromeda and Narcissa exchanged anguished looks. All the students left at the Slytherin table were now staring at them expectantly. Andromeda's eyes crossed Liantris's but his emerald gaze was undecipherable, his face unreadable. He was watching her silently.

Narcissa tucked her arm, and Andromeda turned to her. She pointed at the gigantic doors of the Great Hall and Andromeda's throat tightened. Bellatrix had not left. Bellatrix was waiting there, immobile. Her posture was perfect, her gaze deathly cold, her aura so confident those who stood too close had to back down. Andromeda put on the mask she had perfected the most, the mask that had become like second skin to her, the mask that had made her who she was in that school. She put on her mask of indifference and, grabbing Narcissa stood up, and headed towards the doors.

A quick glance told her Cissy had followed her example and put on her best face. Another glance told her Liantris was still staring at her, and though his eyebrows were crunched together, she still could not read him. A last glance told her that Joy had followed.

Eyes now fixed on Bellatrix, she made her way to the doors, the heels of her shoes tapping on the stone floor, echoing in the silence that was not quite silent, broken by whispers and mutters and fidgeting. Her heart pounding she tried to ignore the hundreds of eyes she felt on the back of her neck. She corrected her posture, made it perfect. She had to be perfect. She was a Black.

On the other side of the room, Professor Dumbledore's voice echoed through the hall. 'Either finish you breakfast or go join your classes!' he said, and Andromeda could swear she had heard a drop of bitterness in his voice.

What felt like aeons later, she was finally by Bella's side, still holding firmly to Cissy's hand.

Bella nodded. 'Follow me, I need to talk to you.'

Andromeda and Narcissa exchanged a glance but did as they were bid.

'Meda!' called Joy behind Andromeda who stopped and turned. 'I'll see you later then?'

'Yeah. I'll see in our next class,' replied Andromeda.

Joy nodded and headed towards Curtis who was snarling with Carlisle Bulstrode and Valentine Pyrites. Andromeda decided that whatever they were talking about, she wanted no part in it.

oooOOOooo

She followed Bellatrix through the corridors and started wondering whether she wanted any part in whatever Bella was going to tell them either.

'Bella, where are we going?' asked Cissy weakly after they had made another turn.

Bellatrix ignored her. She was taking them to some obscure, forgotten part of the castle.

'Is she angry?' whispered Narcissa.

'Not at us,' Andromeda replied. She knew it was true. She just hoped it was for the better.

Bellatrix finally stopped in front of an empty classroom and hurriedly ushered them in. They followed her lead and waited.

'Stupid Dumbledore!' muttered Bellatrix angrily once she had closed the door behind them. 'Stupid teachers! Stupid Minister of Magic!' Andromeda and Narcissa exchanged a look. Bellatrix seemed not to notice. Breathing deeply, she turned back to them. 'Listen to me,' she said, holding a Daily Prophet before their eyes. 'This law that Leach is trying to pass, it's just a means to make his kind more relevant. He's giving importance to the non-magical scum so that muggles like him can take over. And Dumbledore, he's on their side! He hates us, magical folks! Did you hear him speak? About the worth of wizards? I thought I was gonna puke.'

Andromeda nodded. She could understand the discomfort. Looking by a window, however, she felt herself yawn. 'Did you bring us here to tell us this?' she asked.

Bellatrix shook her head. 'No. I brought you here to warn you.'

Narcissa squirmed. 'Are we in danger?' she asked fearfully.

Andromeda met Bellatrix's eyes. 'Cissy,' said the oldest. 'As long as a Muggle-born stands as Minister of Magic, all of the wizarding world is at risk.' Andromeda put a reassuring hand on Narcissa's shoulder. The poor girl looked terrified. 'But it's okay because he will not stand there for long. A lot of people are not happy with the current situation, Cissy. A lot of people want to put an end to it. And they are the stronger party.'

Andromeda frowned. 'Who are they?' she asked suspiciously.

Bellatrix looked straight into her eyes. 'I can't tell you. I'm not even sure yet. I'm looking into it. Just trust me for now, okay?' Both Andromeda and Narcissa nodded. Bellatrix sighed. 'Good. Now listen carefully. Things are going to change from now on,' she said, her voice grave, her eyes intense. 'I want you two to be very careful. You are members of the House of Black. Who you talk to, who you stay with, who you look at – all of this has an impact on our family. So, from now on, I want you two to be extra careful and extra strict with yourselves. Start making connections, only befriend people if the friendship is advantageous to you, do not approach in any way, shape or form a muggle, a muggle-born, a blood-traitor… I even want you to be careful with half-bloods, okay? Do not put the family in a bad position. Do not put yourselves in bad positions. Understood?'

Andromeda gulped, and nodded. Narcissa nodded. Bellatrix nodded. There was a long pause. Bellatrix took a deep breath.

'I'm looking out for you two. Be careful,' she said softly. 'Now go to your classes. Hurry.'

Narcissa swiftly disappeared. Andromeda stayed behind.

'What is it?' asked Bellatrix, frowning.

Andromeda hesitated. She could hear the blood pumping in her head and her heart palpitating madly in her chest. None of it showed on her face. 'I think you scared Cissy,' she said matter-of-factly.

Bellatrix stared at her intensely. 'She has to know. You have to know.'

Andromeda nodded. 'Yes, you made yourself pretty clear.' She paused. Another silence. Then : 'Those people… the "stronger party"… are they linked to Lestrange and his Dark Lord somehow?'

'What do you think?' asked Bellatrix in response.

'Of course.' Andromeda nodded again. 'Say, why don't you include me in all this? Your correspondence with Rodolphus, your, uhm, inquiries into the Dark Lord…'

Bellatrix squinted her eyes. She seemed to hesitate. After a while, she said: 'You're not ready yet, Andy.'

Andromeda raised an eyebrow. 'You're kidding me, I hope.'

'I'm not. This is serious.'

'You're treating me like you're treating Cissy.'

'And you're being a child about it!' snapped Bellatrix. 'I will tell you all you need to know. In time. In the meantime, focus on making the right friends, because Joycelin and Curtis don't exactly cut it.'

Andromeda made an effort not to clench her teeth. 'I'll see what I can do about that.'

Bellatrix stared at her before placing a gentle hand on her shoulders. 'Everything I do, I do for you and Cissy. You know that, right.'

Andromeda felt guilty all of a sudden. 'Of course, I know,' she said.

Bellatrix smiled kindly. 'I'm sorry. I have to go.'

She left the room without another word.

Andromeda watched her go silently and fell lump into a chair. She was going to be late to class, she knew, but she needed to compose herself. "Who you talk to, who you stay with, who you look at – all of this has an impact on our family", Bellatrix had said. "do not approach in any way, shape or form a muggle, a muggle-born, a blood-traitor… Things are going to change from now on… You are members of the House of Black… Do not put the family in a bad position… Everything I do, I do for you and Cissy…"

Andromeda passed a frantic hand in her hair. All these things she had heard a million times before. She knew those rules. She was aware of those warnings. She had always been careful, always tried… until recently… Ted Tonks… on a whim…

No! That had been nothing but a slip. She would not let anything resembling communication with a mudblood happen ever again. She could not.

"Things are going to change from now on…" Yes, she knew. She realised now, that she would not be able to stop it. But how would they change, and what would she do about it?

oooOOOooo

The next day, Andromeda was forced to remember that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was not just any kind of school. Hogwarts was a school were sixteen-year-olds were taught to brew a potion that causes hysteria.

'The Alihotsy plant is the fundamental element of the Alihotsy Draught,' Professor Slughorn was saying as he roamed between the rows of students.

'Who'd have thought?' joked Andromeda under her breath.

Next to her, Maggie chuckled.

'You must be very careful when you incorporate it to the mix,' continued the Professor. 'If the temperature is not exact, it might trigger a reaction…'

'I wonder what kind of reaction,' snorted Maggie.

'An explosion!' concluded Slughorn.

Andromeda and Maggie burst into laughter. Although they had tried to be discreet, Slughorn was close enough and experienced enough to notice them right away. The girls looked up but found no trace of anger or disappointment in the plump wizard's face, only a playful smile.

'Could it be that my two best students feel unthreatened by the possibility of failure?' he asked, to them only.

Maggie shook her head immediately. 'Of course not, Professor,' she said. 'It's just…' she threw a glance at Andromeda, asking for help.

'We would have been surprised if the consequence was not an explosion, sir,' said the Slytherin with a charming smile. 'After six years of brewing potions, we start having expectations.'

Slughorn laughed lightly. 'I see, I see… well, between you and I, an explosion is not the only consequence a mistake can lead to,' he whispered with a complicit glance.

Andromeda and Margaret exchanged a look. 'What do you mean, Professor?' asked Margaret.

Slughorn ushered them closer. They leaned in, curious, whilst their teacher threw dramatic glances around. 'If you put the leaves in while the temperature approaches two hundred degrees, it might turn the Draught into a short-time-pain-infusion potion,' he whispered, looking them right in the eyes. 'The pain it causes can be up to three times worse than that of the Cruciatus Curse.'

The girls did not reply, their faces stuck in an expression of confounded worry. Slughorn leaned back and, upon registering their reactions, replaced his dramatic grave look with his usual bright smile. 'Thankfully, the pain never lasts more than a minute and getting the potion right is highly unlikely. Only a few cases have ever been reported, so nothing to worry about on that front!' he said, then paused, and looked around. 'Refrain from telling this to anyone else. It is not the type of information that should befall unto the hands of students.' Winking, he added, 'Although you two are not just any students.'

The girls smiled in response until he left merrily. They exchanged another look and Andromeda was happy to see the horror on her face reflected on Maggie's. Shaking away her worry, the latter went back to mixing the potion.

'That was… gruesome,' she said.

Andromeda nodded. 'I wonder how he knows all this,' she said. 'He always has some horrific story to tell about this or that potion. Do you think he's actually tried them all?'

'You mean brewed them, or consumed them?'

Andromeda chuckled. 'I can hardly see Professor Slughorn willingly putting himself in danger. No, brew them of course.'

Margaret feigned to think for a second. 'You know, I wouldn't be surprised,' she replied. 'He has that "mad scientist" look about him.'

Andromeda threw her a curious look. 'Mad scientist?'

Margaret nodded. A second later, she frowned and looked back at her friend, only then understanding the tone of surprise in her voice. 'You do know what a scientist is?' she asked.

Andromeda indeed had a vague idea of what a scientist was, but she was not sure she wanted to be put to the test. 'That's not the point,' she replied instead. 'Since when do you use muggle references?' she pressed.

Margaret's frown turned from doubtful to cautioning. 'Wizards always have,' she said. 'Since when has it become a problem?'

Andromeda did not look away when Maggie's stare became more insistent, but neither did she reply. She did not know that wizards always had been using muggle references. Her family certainly shied away from those most of the time, if not always. As to why it was problem, she had a lot to say on the matter, but those would not be her words, and she did not feel confident enough in them to shove them at Maggie, a friend whom she knew to be very critical.

A friend.

Andromeda sighed and finally put an end to their staring contest.

'Maggie,' she started, conflicted and not looking at her. 'What do you think of all this?'

She heard Maggie sigh next to her and lean on the table behind them. 'What?' She asked in return.

Andromeda threw her a meaningful look. 'You know what,' she said. 'All the debates about squibs, and muggles, and muggleborns and the Minister of Magic and the protests… What do you think?'

Maggie threw her a long, deep stare. 'Why do you ask me?' she breathed.

Andromeda tsked, annoyed. 'Just – answer,' she said, but Maggie remained silent. Andromeda sighed. 'Because you're my friend,' she started with difficulty. 'But also, because you're a Pure-blood from one of the richest and most powerful families, and a Ravenclaw. I want your perspective on things.'

Slowly, Margaret's face brightened into an amused but gentle smile. 'Merlin knows our kind does need perspective,' she said, then pushed herself from the desk and, as she added ingredients to the brewing potion, regained a graver expression. 'If I'm completely honest, Meda,' she said, 'I'm scared. Nobby Leach might be Muggle-born, the first Muggle-born Minister of Magic, but he is far from being as incompetent as the big families make him out to be. And those recent attacks against muggleborns… I don't know. It just seems like…'

'Like what?' prompted Andromeda, worried.

'Like there might be a war coming,' concluded Margaret.

Silence followed her statement. It took Andromeda a moment to gather herself out of her thoughts and get back to cleaning the Alihotsy leaves. She was thinking back to what Sophie had told her back during Liantris's party. That Rodolphus and his Dark Lord seemed to want war. Sophie had always been a brilliant girl.

Andromeda and Maggie did not exchange a look for many more minutes. When it was time to add the leaves to the mix, the two glanced apprehensively at each other.

'Pray there's no explosion,' begged Maggie between clenched teeth.

'Pray if there is, it's not resistant to cleaning spells,' added Andromeda.

Taking her courage into her own hands, she raised the leaves above the cauldron, nodded once more towards Maggie, and shutting her eyes tight, released her burden. She heard the blop of the plant hitting the liquid solution and cringed, expecting the worst. Instead, she heard the playful sound of bubbles and opened her eyes to see a bright violet potion, exactly the colour it was supposed to be.

'Yes!' exclaimed Maggie as Andromeda sighed in relief.

The two jumped merrily on the spot and a high-five later had caught the attention of Professor Slughorn who hurried over to where they stood and praised them passionately for the following ten minutes of class.

'A remarkable feat, young ladies!' he said before adding, for them only: 'And one that we will make sure to brag about at my next Slug Club Party.'

With a cryptic smile, he left to sing their praises to the rest of the small class, leaving the two girls to exchange amused glances. It was no surprise that they would be invited to the Slug Club. Both had been recurring members since their fourth year, both thanks to their family names and excellent grades.

Calmed down since their victory, Andromeda and Maggie lost themselves in the contemplation of their impeccable creation. Yet slowly, Andromeda's smile faded.

'Maggie,' she started, and Margaret nodded. 'If there is a war… Which side will you be on?' she whispered.

Maggie never looked away from the potion as she replied. 'Hopefully, the same as yours Meda.'

oooOOOooo

"Hopefully, the same as yours, Meda."

'Meda.'

"The same as yours, Meda —"

'Meda?'

"The sa—"

'Andromeda!'

Andromeda looked up, startled, only to find Joy glaring at her. Next to her, Paloma and Annie were staring suspiciously. Their silence would have been heavy had it not been buried under the tantrum noises of the Three Broomsticks. Together, the four of them sat at a table in a corner of the vast room, near a window, relatively away from the general excitation, but not far enough that the loud laughter of young Gryffindors and booming exclamations of older wizards did not reach them as if they had been sitting at their table. Andromeda wondered about using the noise as an excuse for her inattention. Looking at her friend's glare again, she decided against it.

For a long moment she remained silent, not knowing what to say and, frankly, not in the mood to beg for forgiveness. She did not want to pretend caring about everything her friends said. She did not care about everything her friends said. She had no reason to apologise. She apologised too much already.

Still, she caught her breath ever so discreetly when she saw Joy open her mouth, ready to rant.

'This feels familiar…' she mumbled before exclaiming, 'I've been calling you for ages!'

Andromeda shrugged. 'I zoned out,' she said, turning back to watch out the window.

Outside, the sky was grey and clouded. Rain threatened to pour as strong winds shuffled the leaves off the paved streets. Andromeda usually enjoyed this kind of weather. Today however, it just looked grim.

The day had started fine. Andromeda and her classmates had hopped onto the carriages for Hogsmeade together, all of them in a bright mood. Later, in Hogsmeade, she had caught a glimpse of Narcissa giggling with her court of followers and Bellatrix stepping out of a carriage with Sophie and a huddle of other students, including Liantris, Valentine, Rita, Curtis and Carlisle. Andromeda had made it a point to look away.

She had actually had a great time with Joy, Paloma and Annie. They'd gone through the entire spectrum of Hogsmeade shops for the hundredth time, but the cut from their daily routines had truly proved enjoyable for Andromeda. The girls had laughed and joked and talked like they used to do, and she had been happy. She had been happy when they had entered the Three Broomsticks. She had been happy when they had sat down at their table, when they had ordered their drinks, when they had laughed after Joy had accidentally spilled some of hers.

But then she had noticed Sophie enter the pub holding hands with Theo Travers, and not too far behind them, Valentine, Carlisle, Curtis and the others had followed, and Andromeda had felt a knot form in her stomach. It had taken her another couple of seconds to realise it was because Bellatrix was not with them. So she had looked out the window. She had waited. And in the corner of the street behind the glass, made harder to see by the rising mist, a group of tall strangers dressed in long black robes. And she thought, maybe, she had caught just a glance of a familiar mane of black curls.

"Hopefully, the same as yours Meda."

'Are you gonna tell us what you're thinking?' asked Joy, annoyed.

Andromeda did not bother to look at her. 'I don't know,' she said. 'Just lost in thought.'

'You're always lost in thought, these days!'

'Am I?'

'You are!'

'Oh.'

'What?' asked Paloma all of a sudden. 'Is it because of us? Are we boring you? Are we bothering you?'

'Of course not,' replied Andromeda and this time she was the one that was annoyed. 'I just –' a drop of blue in the grey blur of the outside caught her eyes. She turned to look. Maggie! 'I've got to talk to Margaret Greengrass,' she blurted, standing up. 'I'll be back.'

She grabbed her handbag and practically ran out of the pub, ignoring the wide-eyed looks of her classmates. She pushed the door open, stormed out, and hurried across the streets, never stopping as long as she could catch sight of her friends behind the windows' glass. Maggie and her friends were only a few feet in front of her. She had passed the windows. She stopped. She took a deep breath and watched as the Ravenclaws continued on, getting further away.

'Thanks,' Andromeda whispered to the wind. She really had needed a reason to escape.

She felt on edge. She didn't know why. She just knew the pub was too crowded and she had started to feel… trapped. Outside, she was glad for the frequent gusts of wind and their chilling cold. She looked around and saw the road to the woods was clear. She started walking.

Sometimes, one needed time alone with their mind's sole company. Andromeda had seen her crave for those moments multiply in a very short amount of time and was still not used to spending time by herself in a place where her solitude could be witnessed by people she knew. Andromeda was glad for the peace, but uncomfortable at the idea of being seen. She kept looking around, worried, trying to seem proud like she always seemed, aloof like she always looked, detached like she often was.

She reached the edge of the woods within a few minutes and stopped at the fence. The road had been devoid of humans – they were probably hiding from the blasting wind – and she was starting to feel more at ease. As she looked out to the tall trees and flush grass, she let her eyes close and her muscles relax. She listened. To the whooshing sound of the breeze ruffling the leaves, to the excited chirps of the birds fighting the winds, to the clipping sound of the metallic fence against the wood.

The sounds brought her back to older days, when she used to play with her sisters near the woods surrounding Black Manor. One afternoon, Bella and Andy had been pretending to fight with wooden sticks — it had been Bella's idea — and Narcissa had been sitting nearby, laughing. Andromeda remembered that afternoon so clearly… It was summer, a bright warm day in a heavenly landscape. Narcissa's powers had manifested for the first time. She had laughed so hard daffodils had grown at her feet. When she had realised what she had done, her glee had been such that the flowers had turned to butterflies. Andromeda remembered that afternoon so clearly.

oooOOOooo

It was getting late. Everybody would be expected back to the carriages soon enough. Andromeda was feeling incredibly light. Incredibly at peace.

Footsteps snatched that peace away. She looked up. Gryffindors. She frowned. There were Hufflepuffs too. Ted Tonks and his classmates.

It had been many days since her last interaction with the muggle-born. She was glad. This boy had been more of a nuisance in the last month that anyone she had ever known in the past six years. Things were sufficiently complicated in her life that she did not need one lowborn filthy mudblood to make it worse.

With these thoughts in mind, she raised her head high and straightened her back, determined to ignore them royally.

'Hey Black!'

She sighed. Of course.

'Where's your bunch of criminals? They ditched you?'

Andromeda hesitated before stopping. Criminals? She turned around slowly and stared straight through the talker's eyes. He was the Gryffindor who had stood up to Bella in the Great Hall, back when they had received the news about the Minister's new reform on Squibs. He was a tall boy, blond, blue eyes. Some sort of Viking. What was his name again? Caradoc Dearborn?

His eyes widened when they met hers.

'Oh,' he blurted. 'You're not Bellatrix.'

Andromeda had already rolled her eyes twenty times in her head. Outside though, she did not move an eyebrow. Dearborn looked hardly sorry, simply surprised, maybe disappointed. She hesitated. Should she simply leave, thus emphasising how he had made a fool of himself, or go ahead and give leave to her curiosity?

A cough.

Tonks?

"Screw it!"

'Who are you calling criminals?' she asked in an icy voice.

Dearborn squared his shoulders. 'Like you don't know,' he spat back.

Dark silhouettes… A mane of black curls…

'Forget it, Doc,' intervened a lanky black Hufflepuff with green eyes and curly hair whom Andromeda recognised as Adrian Wispbelly, a prefect.

Andromeda ignored him and took a step towards Dearborn, planting herself on the ground, hands on her hips. 'When a stranger makes ridiculous public assumptions about me, my sisters, or our entourage, it is only descent that he at least offers a hint of knowing what the hell he's talking about,' she hissed.

'Don't answer that, Doc,' warned a girl next to him whom Andromeda recognised as the Muggle-born Deborah Leeswood. Andromeda also could not help but notice that Tonks remained remarkably silent.

'Oh, I'll have proof soon enough,' growled Dearborn.

Andromeda raised both eyebrows. 'Find yourself a hobby,' she said, 'instead on spying on better people out of a desperate need to justify your stupidity by making monsters out of us.'

She turned on her heels and made to leave. Dearborn, however, was not done.

'You don't need me to make yourselves monsters!' he shouted. 'Hurting muggleborns and squibs!'

Andromeda swirled around. 'Aren't you done making things up!' she shouted back.

'You're a liar! I know the truth, my dad works at the Ministry!'

'And the Ministry is about as competent at its job as feetless elves!'

Her father had said that once.

'What a horrible thing to say!' gasped Leeswood.

'Come on, that's enough!' said Wispbelly. Next to him, Tonks was staring at her, still silent. That angered her, for some reason.

'You're just as bad as your sister!' yelled Dearborn. 'Why aren't you killing rats for fun like Bellatrix?'

Something snapped in Andromeda and her wand was out of her pocket before she could even process what she was doing. She didn't know what she was doing. All she knew was that blood was pulsing in her temple, her heart pounded inside her chest, and she was angry.

'Do not ever insult my family again.'

'What's going on here?' called a voice inches behind Andromeda.

Andromeda jumped, terrified. Even deaf she would recognise this voice: Bellatrix.

She turned around. Bellatrix looked mighty in a black gown which contrasted with the paleness of her skin. Behind her stood three men who Andromeda knew very well and whose shear presence sent shivers up her spine. There was Bertram Gibbon, a lanky redhead with a bony face and a cruel look in his eyes. Next to him stood a big blond boy sporting a pathetic moustache above his lipless mouth called Thorfinn Rowle. The two of them used to be the leaders of a rather large group of Slytherins back in their Hogwarts days. Bellatrix, and by extension, Andromeda, Narcissa and Sophie, had also been part of that group. But Andromeda had never cared for Bertram, who was as dumb as he was cruel, and as arrogant as he was incompetent, and Thorfinn, who was nothing but a brainless follower. She had cause enough to fear, knowing their temperament, but she was even more scared by the presence of the third man, a tall, broad-shouldered stranger with sleek black hair and a cane of waxed ebony. Rodolphus Lestrange.

What were these three doing in Hogsmeade? Oh right, thought Andromeda, remembering the letter Bellatrix had received from Rodolphus. It was not been an invitation for a simple date then.

Andromeda turned back to her sister and noticed a hint of exhilaration in her eyes, one that did not bode well for the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs. Bellatrix was even smiling at the many shudders and gasps her arrival had caused. Nearly all the students had taken a few steps back and she was glaring at each one of them, one after the other.

Andromeda lowered her wand and tried to control her expression. Her heart was beating madly in her chest as she realised that she was worried for them. She truly feared that Bellatrix would hurt them. If not her, then one of the men following her.

'What's going on here?' Bellatrix asked again.

Andromeda opened her mouth, closed it again, paused. She walked towards Bellatrix and put an appeasing hand on her arm. The one holding the wand.

'It's nothing,' she said in an almost whisper. 'Let's get away from here. They're not worth it.'

She had to lead them as far away from Dearborn and the Hufflepuffs as possible. But Bellatrix was not inclined. Rodolphus, Bertram and Thorfinn were now taking their wands out of their pockets with a menacing look in their eyes. They did not seem inclined to leave either.

'Come on, Andy…' drawled Bella, glaring back at the Hufflepuffs with a wolfish grin. 'I heard you. They were insulting the family.' Andromeda bit her lip. Bellatrix took it as confirmation. 'Which one?' She asked, and there was no amusement in her voice this time.

Caradoc Dearborn stepped forward, a hand in his back pocket. Andromeda cursed him internally. Did he really think he was being discreet?

'That was me,' he said. 'I said you were a bunch of sadistic criminals.'

Bella raised an eyebrow. Andromeda struggled not to show how horrified she felt.

'Watch your mouth, half-blood!' spat Bertram, raising his wand.

'This guy's Caradoc Dearborn,' informed Thorfinn. 'His father works with mine at the Ministry. His mother's a muggle.'

'Disgusting animal…' muttered Bellatrix.

'Hey, back off!' intervened Wispbelly.

'Adrian, wait,' said Tonks.

'No, let him come at us if he's not scared to lose his limbs,' taunted Bertram.

'You people are mad!' shouted Dearborn.

'No, you are!' replied Bellatrix. 'How dare you even look at a member of the Black Family!'

'Bella, let's go, they're not worth it,' said Andromeda, grabbing her sister and trying desperately to drag her away.

'Because you think you're worth anything?' said Dearborn, to Andromeda's despair. 'Everything's given to you on a silver plate!'

'That's because we come from the most ancient and respectable of families! Our blood is pure, not tainted like yours!'

'You! –'

'EXPELIARMUS!' shouted Bellatrix.

Caradoc Dearborn's wand flew right into her hand.

'Did you just try to curse me?' she shrieked. Andromeda held her breath. Dearborn did not answer though. A murderous flame shone in his eyes. 'Fine,' said Bellatrix, and her voice was so low it was barely audible. 'I'll kill you right now, then.'

She raised her wand, Dearborn's hands flew before his face in a vain attempt to protect himself, Wispbelly and Ted jumped in front of him and yet… Bellatrix stopped, hand still in the air. Everything froze. Slowly, Bellatrix lowered her hand. Her voice was still as threatening as ever when she spoke again.

'What are you doing?' she asked.

Standing in front of her, arms open in a cross, Andromeda was doing her best to calm her madly beating heart and the frantic shivers of her body.

'Bella, this is going to get us into trouble!' She said in a strong voice. Bellatrix paused. Andromeda frowned deeper. 'Bella, these people are not worth our time, and certainly not worth us getting detention!'

Seconds passed in silence, the latter only broken by the whooshing sound of the wind. Bellatrix and Andromeda were staring in each others' eyes, seemingly oblivious to the tensed souls surrounding them. But Andromeda was not oblivious. She simply hoped with all her might that they would keep their mouths shut and not provoke Bellatrix to the point of no return, because she could see in her sister's cold, black stare that they did not see eye-to-eye. Bellatrix believed these people worthless and deserving of punishment. Detention would be an honour, in her eyes, for having done something right.

Andromeda almost lowered her arms. Of course she would not convince Bellatrix. She had failed protecting those idiotic muggle-lovers and had put herself in danger in the process. Bellatrix would probably think she was sympathising with them and hurt her as well for being a blood traitor. She cringed, expecting to feel pain.

But to her surprise, Bellatrix did lower her wand and, slowly, put it back inside the pocket of her robe. At the same time, she carelessly threw Dearborn's wand to the ground. Andromeda, feeling inexorably relieved, nodded once. Bellatrix addressed a simple hand gesture to the boys behind her and together they departed.

Everything was still silent. Bellatrix seemed to be thinking. Andromeda refused to look back.

'We should have blasted them all into oblivion…' muttered Rodolphus after they had put some distance between them and the others. He was glaring at Andromeda.

Bellatrix exchanged a glance with her. They stared. Both remained silent.