'Have you heard? Deborah Leeswood is in the hospital wing! She was attacked last night and was found passed out near the Black Lake!'

Rita looked positively thrilled. Then again, she had never been more popular. Students huddled around her like moths to a light. Not all were Slytherins either, many had abandoned their usual spot in the Great Hall to hear about what had happened. Andromeda was not one of them. She sat on the far-side of the Slytherin table, nibling at her food, unable to eat.

She felt sick.

'I wonder how she does it,' said Joy next to her. 'She is always the first to know when something big happens.'

Andromeda did not know the answer and had other things on her mind. Opposite her, Narcissa was anxiously chewing the inside of her cheek.

'Andy?' she said, 'Do you think Bella and Sophie really had something to do with it?'

Andromeda shut her eyes.

'Rita says it was them who found Leeswood, yesterday,' said Joy in a frail voice.

Andromeda opened her eyes to see Narcissa glaring at her friend. 'So what? It doesn't mean they did it!'

Joy pouted and started pocking meekly at her food.

Andromeda had another hit of nausea and this time, she stood up, muttering a weak 'I'm not feeling well' before making her escape.

She heard Narcissa's footsteps follow her past the doors of the Great Hall.

'Andy, wait for me!'

Andromeda hesitated before finally coming to a stop in the corridor.

'Sophie is having a break down, Bellatrix is in Dumbledore's office, and now you're saying you're sick!' she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. 'What is going on?'

Andromeda placed her fingers on her temple and shut her eyes again.

After the professors had left the grounds to take Leeswood to the hospital wing, yesterday, Andromeda had snuck back to her dormitory, unnoticed. Once in bed, she had not been able to fall asleep. She had had no way of knowing, until this morning, whether Leeswood was dead or alive, and during the long hours leading up to breakfast, she had been shivering in cold sweats, terrified that her sister or Sophie had killed someone.

'Andy?'

'I think Bella did it,' Andromeda whispered.

Narcissa froze.

'Why do you say that?'

'I saw her yesterday.'

Narcissa's eyes opened wide. 'Yesterday? When? Where'

Andromeda started speaking in a frantic, brittle voice. 'She wasn't in the Common Room after we'd all come back from the match so I went looking for her and I found her outside, near the Black Lake, but she was with others I didn't know, so I hid and watched her run back to the castle and I went to where she came from and that's when I saw Sophie crying above the girl's body and I — Cissy, I thought she was dead!'

She broke down.

As she shook, crying behind her hands, she felt Narcissa's arms envelope her and snuggled deeper into the hug.

'Come on, let's go somewhere more private,' Narcissa whispered in her ear in a surprisingly calm voice.

Andromeda was blinded by her tears and hiding her face, so she let her sister guide her through the corridors and into an empty classroom. Narcissa sat her down on a chair and stood beside her, shushing her gently and rubbing her back until she had calmed down.

'This is the room where Bella took us, back then,' Narcissa said when Andromeda looked up at her surroundings. 'When she told us that everything was going to change and that we had to be extra careful.' She scoffed. 'Bella has always been terrible at heeding her own advice.'

Andromeda managed the tiniest smile before breaking into another fit of sobs. 'How can you be so calm about this?' she asked Narcissa.

'One of us has to keep a cool head.'

Andromeda shut her eyes and took a deep breath. Narcissa was right. The time for panic was over. Now was the time to make things right.

She opened her eyes and stood.

'I have to speak with Sophie.'

Narcissa cast her a worried look. 'You have to lie down,' she protested. 'Andy, you look unwell. Have you even slept since yesterday?'

'No,' replied Andromeda, heading for the door, 'but I have all day to sleep. Right now, I've got to talk to Sophie and make sure that she hasn't and won't say anything she shouldn't.'

Narcissa grabbed her arm. 'What do you mean?'

'Sophie went to Dumbledore's office before Bella, but have you seen the state she's in? She is devastated! If she has told him that Bella did it, maybe I can still convince her to go back on her word and claim that she was so shocked by what she'd seen that she told him nonsense.'

'But what if Bella did do it?'

'She won't ever admit it to Dumbledore.' Or at least, Andromeda hoped so.

Narcissa did not seem convinced. 'Dumbledore will have his own ways of knowing the truth,' she said.

'But we have to try,' replied Andromeda, stopping in her tracks to face her sister. 'Or would you rather sit back and watch Bellatrix be taken to Azkaban?'

Narcissa looked horrified. 'Merlin, no!'

'Exactly,' said Andromeda. 'Now listen to me. You go tell Rita to shut up before she starts making up a story we don't want her to spread, and I'll go find Sophie. Sounds good?'

'Good,' replied Narcissa with a fierce look in her eyes. 'See you later.'

Andromeda nodded and strode away towards the Slytherin Common Room.

Sophie was sitting on her bed with her head between her hands, trembling. She looked up at the sound of Andromeda's footsteps, and Andromeda winced at the sight of her bloodshot eyes and haggard face.

'How are you holding up?' she asked, taking a seat on the bed next to Sophie.

Sophie started shaking her head. 'I didn't do it,' she said in a brittle voice. 'I didn't do it, it wasn't me.'

Andromeda placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. 'I believe you, Sophie. No matter what, I'm on your side.'

Sophie stopped fidgeting to gaze at her. It was like she wanted to trust Andromeda but dared not. Andromeda decided to push her luck.

'I promise you, no matter what you tell me, I'll be on your side. So I need to know,' she murmured, 'was it Bella who did it?'

Sophie's eyes opened wider and her shaking grew stronger. 'No!' she exclaimed weakly. 'Bella didn't do anything. She just stood there. It wasn't either of us. It was…'

Andromeda frowned. 'Who was it?' she asked. 'Who was there?'

Sophie put a hand over her mouth and shut her eyes closed. Andromeda had to repress a groan of frustration.

'Come on Sophie, you can tell me,' she said in a voice much calmer than she felt. When it became clear Sophie was not going to talk, she released a long sigh and whispered, 'look, you don't have to lie to me. I went looking for you yesterday and I saw Bella running back to the castle with other people by her sides. They were cloaked and I did not recognise their silhouettes, so I assume they were not Hogwarts students.'

Sophie frowned, confused.

'They had to be some of Rodolphus's friends; supporters of the Dark Lord.' Andromeda continued, 'See? I didn't say this to anyone. So you can tell me everything as well. I'll keep it a secret, I promise.'

Sophie hesitated. Many long seconds passed before she removed her hand from her mouth and tangled it in her hair instead.

'You're right,' she breathed. 'They were here. We were only supposed to trade information but I – I told them to bring Firewhisky and we sneaked them inside the castle… We were just drinking and having fun when she – the g-girl – showed up… she must have been looking for something, I don't know. I was drunk, you see. It wasn't me who called her over. I didn't want her to come. Then, I – I'm not sure what happened but they said things they shouldn't have and got scared. They said we had to obliviate her… they told me to do it but…' Sophie cut herself short and snapping back to Andromeda, started shaking her head frantically. 'I didn't do it! It wasn't me!' she repeated. 'I wouldn't – I couldn't possibly —'

She broke into tears and hid her face in her hands, trying to muffle her wails and failing.

Andromeda continued to pat her shoulders sympathetically but said nothing. She knew Sophie better than anyone. She knew her ambitions, her fears, her quirks and her mannerisms. She knew what she sounded like when she was lying. And she was lying.

The door to the dormitory opened just then and Bellatrix stepped inside. She stopped short at the sight of Andromeda and her eyes darkened with suspicion. Andromeda chose to ignore it.

'Bella!' she called instead. 'How did it go with Dumbledore?'

Bellatrix seemed to hesitate before finally taking a deep breath and walking deeper inside the room. 'What do you think?' she spat bitterly, 'the jerk never liked me. He didn't say it, but I know he thinks it was me who attacked the mudblood.'

Bellatrix leaned against Sophie's desk and Andromeda stared. It seemed to her increasingly unlikely that Bellatrix was the culprit, indeed. There was something in her tone of voice which suggested she felt more disheartened about being innocent than she felt about being wrongly accused. It made Andromeda uneasy, but she tried to temper her disquiet by reminding herself that at least, her sister had not put anyone in a coma.

Problem was, who would believe it? In every adult's eyes, Bellatrix was a wild beast, dangerous, unpredictable and untameable. Bellatrix herself did a very poor job at proving them wrong.

'Dumbledore is always suspicious of Slytherins, but he never showed hostility towards me in particular,' she thought aloud. 'Maybe… Bellatrix, do you want me to go talk to him?'

Bellatrix looked nonplussed. 'What for?'

'Vouch for you.'

Seconds passed during which Bellatrix remained silent and wide-eyed. Then, she let out a small laugh, bright and genuine, which surprised Andromeda and warmed her heart.

'That is a nice thought, Andy,' she said, 'but I don't think it would do me much good at all. Dumbledore will think I forced you. Besides, I didn't do it.'

Sophie released a loud sob, and there was no doubt left in Andromeda's heart: Bellatrix had not been the one to cast the spell. So she said, 'I believe you' and stood up.

Bellatrix caught her wrist before she could leave the room. 'You talked to Sophie?' she whispered in Andromeda's ear.

Andromeda nodded and threw the girl a quick glance. 'She didn't have much to say…'

'Did she tell you anything?'

Andromeda stared, hesitating. After what felt like an eternity she replied, 'She said she didn't do it.'

'And what do you think?'

'That she doesn't sound as innocent as you.'

Bellatrix frowned and Andromeda knew that they understood each other. She was about to step out but stopped herself and turned back around.

'Bella,' she said, 'should I send a letter to father? What if they call Aurors to investigate?'

'Don't worry about it,' Bella said. 'I already had a message relayed to him. And if they intend to call Aurors, it won't be this morning. Dumbledore released me early from his office because some ministry official showed up to summon him most urgently.'

Andromeda raised her eyebrows. 'Dumbledore was summoned at the ministry? Something must have happened…'

'I know,' said Bella. 'I wonder what.'

Andromeda opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted when Rita Skeeter burst into the room, panting, and with a look of pure glee reddening her cheeks, she shouted, "the Minister of Magic is dead!"

I am not making any promises, but I will try to continue updating this story regularly from now on.

I've been absent for a very long time now, due to personal reasons, but my love for these characters and this story is as strong as ever!

Have a great day and thank you for reading everyone! ^^