For the first time in her life, it seemed that nobody wanted anything to do with Andromeda—except perhaps Narcissa, and the shy, stocky Maximilian Flint. Her solitary walk to Charms was humiliating, as there was no avoiding the stares and whispers in the corridors.
"Once a snake, always a snake."
"Stuck-up bitch."
"I've always thought she was completely fake. At least Bellatrix is honest about hating anyone who isn't a prissy pureblood."
She had spent the previous night in the hospital wing, after collapsing during a quarrel at the Hufflepuff table. She had been attempting to smooth things over with Ted Tonks. From Ted's words, she deduced before her fainting spell that he had asked her to be his date to the Ball during the last committee meeting. She had rudely told him that he should be thankful he didn't get a slap in the face for asking her, and that she wouldn't sink so low as taking a Mudblood as her date. Andie was alarmed at hearing about her supposed behaviour, and pointedly denied using that word, but there were multiple witnesses who could corroborate Ted's story. And, because Ted was a sixth-year prefect and one of the most popular students in his House, the entirety of Hufflepuff and most of her former Gryffindor friends now assumed that Andie was at last showing her true Slytherin colours.
Narcissa visited that evening in the hospital wing accompanied by Lucius. Apparently, they had searched all over for Bellatrix earlier, but she was nowhere to be found. The blonde witch reassured her sister that everyone would soon forget what had happened with their excitement over the Ball. Lucius, for his part, made digs at the Hufflepuff Quidditch team for accidentally scoring on their own goal during their previous matchup against Slytherin, and further claimed that Ted Tonks was "a sanctimonious Mudblood twit," a chain of words he'd undoubtedly cribbed from his father, who had most likely been describing former Minister for Magic, Nobby Leach.
The youngest Black sister merely gave a small nod. Truthfully, Narcissa was uncomfortable with how much Lucius and Andromeda both brought up blood status, whatever position they were arguing. She didn't have strong feelings about politics, and was eager to change the topic to how she much preferred Cadmus Tully, a wizard whose music was popular with young witches preferring plaintive love ballads to the more raucous and up-tempo Raving Banshees. She hoped that the orchestra would play one of his ballads tomorrow night so that she and Lucius could share a romantic slow dance.
After performing a series of diagnostic spells, Madam Pomfrey confirmed that Andromeda's vitals were all within normal range. There was nothing that could explain why she fainted, besides the sudden shock. Andromeda made no mention of the headaches and memory loss, so with only one symptom to note, there was nothing else to be done but to provide vitamin replenishment potions, and suggest that she stay overnight for monitoring.
Andromeda's sleep was just as fitful as it had been all week, only now the vision had morphed, so that Bellatrix was also in the faceless man's house. More of the room was visible, including a dark woodgrain writing desk and wall-to-ceiling bookshelves. Bella lounged on an antique settee, while red sparks shot out from the man's wand, until her demeanour changed; her sister pleaded for mercy from the mysterious man through eyes that welled with tears. The dream had felt like an eternity. When Andie awoke in the small hospital cot, phantom pains made her bones feel like they were shattering. Thankfully, the sensation went away after a minute or two, and she quickly dressed and headed to class.
After enduring a day of loneliness and stares, Andie at last managed to track down Bellatrix, who was returning to the Dungeons from a duelling practice with their cousin Evan Rosier and a few of their gang of aspiring Death Eaters. The sisters stepped into a classroom that had fallen into disuse because of an annoying chameleon ghoul that had proven too bothersome to banish, and that had supposedly taken up residence years ago. It was one of the few places to have a truly private conversation. Bellatrix cast a revelio upon entering, ensuring that the classroom was ghoul-less.
"Something is wrong with me. I don't remember entire conversations I supposedly had with my friends…well, former friends. I wouldn't have rejected Ted, I'm positive," said Andromeda.
"Look, I'm sorry you've had a falling out with this Tonks boy. But it never would have been possible for you to attend a social event with a Mudblood. It just isn't something Blacks do! How we conduct ourselves matters for our family's reputation," Bellatrix huffed, folding her arms across her chest.
"You're one to talk about conduct! You jump to using Dark curses when someone so much as looks at you the wrong way," she retorted.
"That's beside the point. I think you could do far worse than Maximilian Flint. I don't think he's ever had a girlfriend. You'd be each other's first kiss! And you wouldn't need to explain everything about our magical childhood like you would to a Mudblood."
"You shouldn't use that word, Bella. It's a slur," hissed Andie.
"Fine, muggle-born. Muggles are filthy, so by default a muggle-born is born of filth. If you lay down with dogs, you catch fleas," sniffed Bellatrix, her tone acidic and unforgiving.
"Merlin, you sound just like Auntie Walburga!" Andromeda formed her trembling hands into fists. The tension in the room was palpable, like lightning before roaring thunder.
"I'd rather sound like her than that old windbag, Albus Dumbledore. And so what if you told Ted that he needed a slap? I'd have done the same," she said, rolling her eyes.
"How do you know that's what I said when I turned him down? I never told you that."
"I err…I heard someone else mention it," she faltered.
"Bella, please. I've always been able to tell when you're lying. Answer me this honestly—I found something in my bag, and I wanted to know if you put it there. I don't remember events too clearly these days, but I think you will."
Andromeda reached into her dragonhide tote bag and removed the folded note with the yearbook photo of Tom Riddle.
"How did you get this?" snarled her sister, tugging on her arm with such force that Andromeda feared it would be dislocated.
"Let go of me, and I'll explain." Begrudgingly, Bellatrix let go. She was still soaring high from defeating Evan—their duel had been extremely close, and lasted nearly 40 minutes. Adrenaline was still coursing in her veins. Her heightened reflexes still sharp, she quickly seized the note back while the younger witch's guard was down.
Bellatrix's heart sank upon reading how the note had been signed. She had been so foolish and sentimental to keep such a thing tucked inside the book her Master had lent her, as a sort of keepsake of their early romance. It should have been burned at the first opportunity to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands, she reprimanded herself.
"Do you know who L.V. is, Andie?" asked Bellatrix carefully.
"Lucius came with Narcissa to visit me in the hospital wing. Papa always did say that a Malfoy squeaks like a rat to save their tail if you put them under enough pressure. I figured if anyone would know, it would be him. I've never seen that boy so agitated, as if someone had dunked him into a cauldron of boiling water. I only asked him if he knew whether Professor Riddle went by any other names, perhaps the initials L.V. His breathing immediately became ragged, and he stammered, 'I know nothing, my father knows nothing.' So, I became suspicious."
"Lucius gave you a perfectly satisfactory answer. What is there to be suspicious about?" If the memory charm had worked as her Master said, there should still be no problem. Bellatrix hoped this was the case.
"Your creepy boyfriend isn't as brilliant as you think, Bella."
"Rodolphus?"
"Oh no, not your fake boyfriend," Andie chuckled. "You see, I took this note from your room on the last night when my memory functioned normally. I knew that it had to be significant. I went to the library and found a book on connections between muggle psychology and mind magic. The Unconscious, which is a concept that the Muggles you disparage so much came up with, refers to repressed thoughts and memories which can sometimes override false memory charms if the content being replaced is deeply traumatic…such as torture." Andromeda paused.
"And what on earth would make you think that's what happened to you?" Bellatrix grew increasingly irate, and tried to quell the impulse to pull out her wand and immediately send some kind of stinging hex, or something, anything, her sister's way.
"I've been having nightmares of a faceless man. I woke up this morning feeling like I had just been Cruciated, like when Papa punished me after I accidentally let all the pixies into the conservatory when I was nine. Maybe Riddle's ego got the better of him, and he thought he'd be powerful enough to make the spell take hold anyways." Andromeda's face was contorted into a hateful grimace.
"I'm sorry, but I have to do this. Obliviate." Bellatrix pointed her walnut wand at her sister, and could almost feel its dragon heartstring core vibrating ecstatically within, as if it was responding to her intent to perform the morally dubious act. She remembered the day she bought it with her mother on her eleventh birthday, when Ollivander had cautioned her that this core was suited to a powerful witch, but that it could easily be turned toward Dark magic. That seemed eons in the past from where she stood, altering her sister's memory so that she would again be woefully ignorant of Professor Riddle's agenda for Wizarding Britain, and their relationship.
Sighing, she scanned Andromeda's mind and found the memory of her reading the book in the library and erased it; another memory of her waking that morning in the hospital wing and remembering having a dream of being in Riddle's house, she replaced with one of waking from a dreamless sleep, and finally, she replaced Andie's memory of sneaking into her dormitory to make a replica of the note, with one of her sister borrowing a dress from her closet. While Andie was still in a stupor, she stuffed the library book inside her own bag and incinerated the note and photograph. Finally, she confounded her sister to return to her dormitory and go to sleep.
October 30, 1968
The Hog's Head Inn, Hogsmeade
The group that Evan Rosier had invited to the shabby inn were clearly already drunk when Bellatrix pushed through the battered wooden door. The tavern was located two streets off the main High Street of Hogsmeade, and was less popular than The Three Broomsticks with students. Drinks were cheap and they served well into the early morning hours, and for that reason it had been chosen for tonight. Olivia Shacklebolt sat next to Evan, and was practically licking the butterbeer foam from above his upper lip. They were seated across from another couple, Nick Nott and Rhea Rowle. Bellatrix walked up to the barman and ordered a vodka-infused gillyweed with a wedge of lime. The barman grumbled an apology that they had "nought fancy like lime" but he mixed her drink, and she sat on an empty stool beside Rodolphus, who was nursing a firewhiskey and talking to Avery, who was without a date. Bellatrix had planned to arrive with her betrothed for appearance's sake, but the conversation with her sister had taken longer than expected, and he'd left without her.
"Bella, we thought you'd never show up! We were just discussing how Rod here says that you're holding out on him! What gives? Everyone knows betrothed couples do it before the wedding," badgered Evan.
"Honestly, Evan. Sorry that you couldn't land any of your hexes earlier, but I do not divulge details of my sex life. Certainly not to a cousin!" Bellatrix was annoyed, but she knew it was meant as his version of playful banter, even if it felt somewhat accusatory.
"Rodolphus is definitely a virgin," tittered Nott. Rhea Rowle imitated his laugh like a trained seal, though in a higher pitch.
"Okay, that's enough. Whatever Bella and I do or don't do is none of your business, Nott." Rodolphus eyed Bellatrix apologetically. Evidently, he hadn't chosen this topic of conversation.
"What about those rumours, Bellatrix? They were just rumours, weren't they?" Rhea prodded. Everyone was emboldened by the alcohol and their inhibitions were lowered. Nott gave her a little nod of encouragement that both Rodolphus and Bellatrix saw.
"Merlin's sake. I told Laetitia she was completely batty for starting that rumour, and that I would've hexed her if I hadn't been facing detention."
"Bellatrix is incredibly talented. She has a research assistant position with Professor Riddle because she's earned it with her marks, and she's researching using tracking charms to track patterns of when and where vampires attack wizards, right Bella?" Rodolphus turned to face her, his marbled blue eyes conveying sadness. She was pleasantly surprised that he had, despite his sore feelings, remembered enough of what she had claimed to be researching to describe it so convincingly. She nodded and tried to communicate in her features as much sympathy and gratitude as she could muster, thanking him silently for coming to her defence for the second time in a short span of days.
"Yeah, but who could blame you if they were true? I mean, Riddle is probably the only professor who you could actually imagine having a sex life without vomiting," Rhea pressed on, in a manner that made Bella grow suspicious.
"Nah, I bet Sluggy did the deed plenty in his day. That moustache was probably all the rage with witches," joked Evan. Avery hooted and laughed in response, while the others exchanged more tepid glances.
"If you have something to say to my betrothed, Nott, say it to my face. Don't have your girlfriend pretend to ask Bella for you, because you're too afraid," said Rodolphus, his voice tinged with caustic ire that no one at their table had expected from him.
"Afraid of what?" demanded Nott, a sneer curling upon his upper lip.
"I know your father isn't as important as mine is to be entrusted with things. Perhaps he isn't pulling his weight anymore. Perhaps he is no longer useful," gibed Rodolphus.
"And if those rumours were true, that would put me in a rather influential position, no?" added Bellatrix, "It might even be…dangerous for you to continue asking questions. I'd back off now if I were you."
Nott suddenly looked horrified, and seemed to be debating making a run for it. Several heads turned toward their table now, their lively conversation having piqued the interest of some of the pub's regulars.
"Please... forgive me. I am so, so sorry, Bellatrix. I mean…Miss Black. I beg your pardon. I've lost track of how many firewhiskeys I've had. I should probably head back to the castle now. Let's go, Rhea." Nott bowed his head solemnly before he made his exit, causing Olivia to look from Bellatrix to Evan, her eyes swimming with confusion. Avery was shrinking into his seat and playing ignorant, but unlike the clueless witch, he had followed the unspoken meaning of the conversation. Soon enough he also seemed to have decided it was in his best interest to leave rather than chance saying something he would regret while drunk.
"Olivia, you should join them. I need to speak to my cousin. It's um, a private family matter. I'll only stay another half hour," said Evan.
"Okay, meet me outside Ravenclaw Tower. Ooh, I'm so excited to see your gown tomorrow, Bellatrix. Goodnight!" She slumped off her chair rather ungracefully, and leaned in to kiss Evan on the cheek, before following after Avery and the other couple.
"Merlin's beard. Let me order another round, and you two can tell me what's really going on."
"I shouldn't stay. I'll catch up with Nott, and try to smooth over the damage. I reacted impulsively, Bella, and I own up to it," said Rodolphus.
"I'll come with you," rejoined Bellatrix. "I'm also responsible. Let me run out there and obliviate them."
"Bella, you've been drinking. It isn't safe to perform obliviation when drunk, you'll muck it up," Evan insisted. "And then how would you explain why Nott can't remember his own name?"
"He's right, Bella. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow before the Feast. You know, so we can discuss what rules I have to follow," said Rodolphus glumly.
"Goodnight, Dolph. And thank you for still defending me. I do appreciate it." Bellatrix reached out to hold the sandy brown-haired boy's hand. He seemed surprised, but managed a small smile before he set out to chase after Nott and his girlfriend.
"You really do look out for me like a brother, you know that?" she asked Evan, once Rodolphus had left.
"No matter what. I don't have any brothers or sisters, so you're the closest thing."
"I know how you feel, ever since I've lost Andromeda. She used to be my best friend. She doesn't share the values that you and I were raised with. She's going to be a stain upon the name Black, I just know it."
"Is this about Ted Tonks?" he asked.
"Yeah, half the school knows Andie rejected him. Only, she didn't reject him. I did. I had taken Polyjuice, and then the Mudblood asked me, I mean Andie, to be his date to the Ball. I panicked, and refused him. It was the right decision." Bellatrix answered without faltering.
"Merlin. This isn't even the most scandalous thing I've learned tonight. But you don't have to tell me if you're not…if He wouldn't...if you'd get in trouble."
"I'm okay. I'm fine. I just feel…so much stress and guilt. I can't tell you more unless you swear right now that you won't sell me out to the Wizengamot if this all goes wrong."
"What?" He discretely waved his wand and cast a muffliato. "Has the Dark Lord asked you to do something illegal? At school?" Evan's eyes were practically bulging out of his head in shock.
Bellatrix merely nodded, and downed half of her second vodka-gillywater. She began to sniffle quietly, trying not to draw any attention to herself. She summoned all of her magical might to wandlessly confound the three middle-aged wizards in their vicinity who looked on in curiosity. It appeared that they had spent much of the day drinking in the pub. Their robes had stains from devouring meat pies and guzzling butterbeer, and yet they were discussing outfits that the new Minister for Magic, Eugenia Jenkins, had worn that week, including pencil skirts that showed a bit of leg. Bellatrix had no qualms about confounding the strangers.
"It'll be okay," Evan said, placing a comforting arm around her shoulder. "You can do it. You earned your victory in our duel, and you're the most talented witch to walk through Hogwarts since, well, I don't know," he consoled her, "And obviously, the Dark Lord believes that too, or he wouldn't have given you a task to carry out."
"I wasn't given a task. It was my own idea. I wanted to make him proud of me. I didn't think he would ever pay attention to me just for being good at hexes and curses. Then he wanted…other things, and I did, too. He's my favourite person in the world."
"Oh."
"Rodolphus figured out because my sister caught me in a lie and she told him. We're only together publicly until the end of the year, then we'll pretend to break up. I've never so much as kissed Rodolphus."
"Well, no wonder he's been in such a foul mood! That boy is down bad for you, Bella."
"I know. He even took me on a very nice date. But, I could never love him," she confided.
"Right. So, the boggart in the room with us…you and the Dark Lord…what are you to him?"
"It sounds unbelievable, but I swear it's the truth. He asked me to marry him. We'll get married next year, after I've graduated. He made an Unbreakable Vow with my father that he has to marry me."
"Merlin's beard! Wait, that means I'll be like his cousin-in-law, doesn't it?"
"Evan, only you would find a way to turn this news back to you… I'm kidding," she quipped between sniffles, her mood lightening.
"If you're happy, I'm happy for you. I know what he plans for our world, to reshape our society, and I agree with him fully. He is the leader that we need. But I will admit, I'm worried. I could never picture you as a traditional wife, and you've said as much to me."
"I wouldn't be a traditional wife, because I would fight alongside him on the battlefield, just like you and the rest of the men. He's actually quite progressive in that way. You'd be surprised."
"I am. I can see how that would be an ideal future for you," said Evan thoughtfully.
"So, you're sworn to secrecy, right? About everything I've said?"
"Of course. I'll even make a blood oath right now. On the Rosier name, so that if I betray your secret, ruin will be brought upon my House." He pricked his thumb with his wand, and uttered a spell in the ancient tongue. Bella pressed her own thumb to his, and it glowed with bright gold light as the magic took hold.
"You're the best. Seriously, thank you so much," she said, feeling like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"You'll do great, Bella. Forget Nott. He's an ignoramus. I'd expect that type of behaviour from Mulciber. Anyway, it's probably good that you made him afraid. He sped out of here like you'd stabbed him with a hot poker. And I almost lost it when he bowed."
"I know! I wonder if people will bow to me in the future," she asked, half-seriously.
"Fat chance I'll ever bow before you, cousin Bella," he grinned.
"Someday you will. And Rodolphus, too," she said, smirking a bit, as Evan erupted in laughter.
The cousins walked up the twisted medieval stone pathway that led from the village to the Castle. Their walk was mostly silent, interrupted only by the occasional soft chirps of crickets, and an unkindness of ravens cawing form a distance. A waxing yellow moon, nearly full, hung in the pitch sky like a travelling companion indifferent to the forgotten terrestrial lives under her influence. It was well after midnight, and so Bellatrix decided she would wait until the morning to find Professor Riddle and update him on what had transpired. She'd need her rest to be alert for tomorrow's activities.
Headmaster's Office
"Good evening, Miss Black. Liquorice wand?" asked Dumbledore.
"No thank you, sir," replied Andromeda.
"Very well. I suppose you might be wondering why I called you into my Office so late."
Andie didn't make a sound in response, and so the grey-haired wizard merely nodded and continued, "I am familiar with your family's rather antiquated traditions and values. I hope you don't mind me saying so. Indeed, I had reason to believe that you held a different set of views from your family. Perhaps that may still be the case. Do you have any idea why your father might have sought a meeting with Professor Riddle recently?"
"No idea, sir."
"Would you say that your father is a close friend of Professor Riddle?"
"I wouldn't, no. They're more like acquaintances."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he fiddled with the tassels of his velvet blue cap embroidered with silver stars.
"Interesting... I was wondering if your sister has ever spoken to you about the research she does with Professor Riddle. Were you aware that she had been selected for this prestigious new programme of his devising?"
"Yes, vaguely. We don't talk much these days."
"I see. Well, perhaps you could enlighten me on something else. There's been a bit of a furor among the Hufflepuffs. I try to stay above these squabbles, and the kinds of fictitious gossip one hears as Headmaster could fill entire books. One of our prefects, Ted Tonks, has made a rather hurtful accusation against you. I take it you're aware?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do you accept his version of events?"
"No, sir."
"No?"
"I mean to say, I haven't been myself lately. I think…I think I might be losing my mind. I can't trust myself or my memory any more. If I said those cruel words to Ted, I wasn't in my right mind."
"That is certainly one explanation, Miss Black. And did you try communicating this to Mister Tonks?"
"I…not exactly in those terms, sir. I denied everything, because I honestly didn't even remember him asking me to the Ball. If my memory was a book, it's like someone has torn out pages, or spilled ink all over the words. I have so many gaps. And nightmares. I should've told Madam Pomfrey the other day, when she kept me overnight. But I'm so scared. Promise me that you won't send me to the Janus Thickey Ward, sir! I'll comply with any treatment. I want to get better."
"Dear child, there will be no sending you to that dreadful place. Only the strongest obliviations gone wrong are sent there. The fact we are having this conversation, and you appear to understand me, tells me we are not in such a dire predicament."
"You believe me?"
"I do."
"And you'll get me help?"
"We will certainly try. I'll have Poppy perform a further series of mental diagnostic spells. Do you need an escort to the hospital wing, or are you capable of walking yourself?"
"I believe I should be fine, sir."
"Very well. I know tomorrow is the Ball, and you are under no obligation to attend if you do not feel up to it. But you have my word that I will advocate for you to Mister Tonks, and convey no more and no less than what you have confided in me. Would you like for me to do that, Miss Black?"
"That is very kind, sir. I would like for him to know the truth. But I'm afraid if I were to go with Ted, it would make my family angry, and only cause more problems."
"I can understand how difficult it must be for you. I suspect that someone, or perhaps, more than one individual, has attempted to make you forget a valuable secret, to destroy the part of you that can tell right from wrong, and make you doubt your sanity in the process. Can you think of anyone who would do that?"
"No."
Just then, Andromeda felt a pressure between her ears, like a tension headache. The Headmaster's office was swirling, and she was conscious then that her memories were being sifted through and moved around like pieces of a puzzle.
"Andie, look who's just come in the door! It's him, Andie!" a thirteen-year-old Bellatrix gleefully announced, hidden in the cracks between the bannisters as the two girls peered down to the entrance foyer from the second story of her aunt and uncle's house at 12 Grimmauld Place. The bannisters were decked with silver tinsel and snow-dusted pine needles. It was Christmastime, and the smell of gingerbread prepared by the house-elf Kreacher scented the air.
"Why do you like him so much, Bella?"
"He's the most handsome, brilliant, perfect man who ever lived. Obviously."
"But he's Papa's age. Boys are gross, I never want to kiss one."
"Yes, Andie, boys are gross. That is correct. But he isn't a boy. Someday, he'll be more powerful than all the Kings in the fairytale books you read."
"Papa and Uncle Orion talk about him sometimes, but I don't understand what they say."
"You don't need to worry about it. I wish he knew that I love him so much it hurts. When I grow up, I'm going to make him love me back."
Dumbledore pulled out of Andromeda's memory abruptly, and brought his hands together like a steeple against his forehead. He seemed tense and was silent for almost a minute. Eventually, he moved his hands back to his lap, and she saw a single tear ready to trickle down his face, magnified behind his half-moon glasses. But then he blinked, and it was gone in an instant.
"It is difficult to accept that those closest to us might be capable of hurting us. Your sister may turn out to be as much a victim as you. I cannot yet say. There are some people, Miss Black, who would go to any lengths for power, and stop at nothing to get it."
"What? Like Professor Riddle? Why? Everyone says he's brilliant."
"He is, without question, the most brilliant student I've taught. But I fear the time may come, Miss Black, when you will have to make a choice between loyalty to your family, and your sense of what is right. Thank you, Miss Black, for an illuminating chat."
"No, thank you, sir. I'll be off to the hospital wing now."
Author's Note: Your continued readership is much appreciated! I hope you enjoy the twist that Dumbledore has been suspicious this whole time, and now pieces are starting to fall into place. The Ball is coming up next! Please leave comments if you can, as they would mean so much.