Chapter Three
The Boy in the Library
Winter Term, 1968
It was a dangerous plan, but Andromeda had long since decided that it was absolutely worth the risk. She sat on the edge of Bellatrix's bed in the Sixth Year Dormitory, whilst her older sister paced around the room, running her hand through cascades of dark hair.
"And it was awful, Bella, it really was. I completely messed up."
"Look, I'm not happy this happened, but Quidditch is Quidditch, and we all know you've had training, so hopefully people will just forget about it, and we'll find something else for -"
"No, they won't forget it. I was atrocious. I even heard them laughing about it in the changing room afterwards -" Andromeda had already reduced Bellatrix to a state of panic, but was yet to deliver the final blow. One of the benefits of full-time interaction with her sister was that she knew exactly how to rile her up. She took in a breath, preparing herself.
"I just feel... I don't know, Bella, the way they reacted – I just feel like I've brought shame upon the family name!"
It worked perfectly. Bellatrix turned, eyes blazing. Thankfully, Andromeda had been right in the assumption that she would not be the target of her sister's anger.
"How dare they! Who are these people to think that of us? Yes, the team are all pure-blood, but I'm fairly certain most of them are what I would call 'new magic'. Don't they realise the amount of respect they should be paying to an ancient, elite, wizarding bloodline like ours. I mean, we're one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight! You shouldn't have put up with it Andromeda. You should have blasted that girl – what's she called? The captain, Dahlia Flaxwielder? Flaxwinder? - to high heaven. In fact, I might just do it for you."
"Whoah, whoah, it's fine, no need for that" Andromeda leapt up, obstructing Bellatrix from grabbing her wand from the bedside counter, which she was reaching for with a wild glint in her eye.
"No, Andromeda, it's not fine. It's anything but fine. You, me and Narcissa, we need to stick together. We can't let anyone exploit our weaknesses."
Having Dahlia Flaxwielder subjected to a stinging hex, courtesy of an enraged Bellatrix, was not part of the plan. Andromeda quickly decided to skip a few steps ahead, before chaos ensued across the Slytherin living quarters.
"I'm not listening to this anymore. Don't get involved with my problems." She declared, abruptly standing up from the bed. Then, in a perfectly executed move, Andromeda leant over and picked up her school-bag from the floor, leaving the flap open just a little, allowing a snatch of gold to become visible as she slung it over her shoulder. Bellatrix, being highly observant, spotted it at once.
"What have you got in your bag?"
"None of your business" Andromeda marched over to the door. Bellatrix blocked her, snarling.
"Dear sister, please tell me why you have my Slug Club invitation hidden in your school bag."
"It's not your Slug Club invitation"
Bellatrix was on the verge of a full-out rage, but Andromeda decided to push her just a little further.
"Yes it is. You've stolen it. Give it back before I hurt you"
"It's not yours"
"Yes it is!"
"No it's -" Andromeda was cut off as Bellatrix flew at her, using one hand to push her chin towards the ceiling, thus drastically impairing her sight range, whilst using the other to grab at the letter in her bag. After a brief struggle, she drew it out, triumphantly.
"Mine!" Bellatrix shrieked, waving the envelope in the air. Andromeda dropped her pretence, smirking.
"Oh really? So what's that gold envelope on your text books, then?"
"That's not... I don't..." Bellatrix stammered, going over to her desk to investigate. Sure enough, the gold letter, astride her pile of Defence Against the Dark Arts books, was addressed, in it's familiar swirling calligraphy, to Ms. Bellatrix Black. Bellatrix stared at it for a moment, then re-addressed the envelope in her hand. As she read it, her mouth dropped open, and she instantly looked over to Andromeda. The younger of the sisters had since returned to her position, curled up on the bed, looking incredibly smug.
"I told you it wasn't yours"
Bellatrix didn't even reply. Instead, she leapt onto her bed next to her sister, grabbing her and squealing with excitement, whilst Andromeda laughed at the sudden mood change. After a few moments, Bellatrix pulled her into a bear hug, still delighted.
"You finally got an invite!"
"I know!"
Then, a little quieter. "I'm so proud of you"
At this, Andromeda felt a little twitch somewhere deep inside her chest. Despite the crazy amount of pressure that Bellatrix liked to exert on her younger family members, it really did feel good when you managed to get something right. Andromeda resolved on the spot to maintain a better, less resentful relationship with her sister. She always forgot how nice it was when they had the opportunity to bond in a relaxed, teenage atmosphere, rather than over the silent dinner table at home.
"Does this mean we have to colour co-ordinate our robe linings on Friday?" She joked, the sound coming out muffled from Bellatrix's shoulder. Immediately, Bellatrix released her, eyes alert.
"Oh goodness, that hadn't even occurred to me! Yes, I suppose we should. Actually, it's probably worth going down to Hogsmeade beforehand to get you some new clothes, seeing as you'll want to make a good first impression. I wonder if -" Bellatrix rattled on, oblivious to the eye-roll directed towards her. It seemed that the old power-hungry, ultra-ambitious, hyper-vigilant Bellatrix that she had come to know and love couldn't be contained for long.
Narcissa Black did not take losing easily. If that idiot Slughorn wouldn't invite her to the Slug Club, that was his own loss. She didn't need it, or him, or any of those useless students who went there, she presumed, to make the most of the free sugar-mice and make awkward conversation with old alumni. No, she was better than that, and more importantly, she was going to one-up both her sisters. Grabbing her friends Alice and Ophelia, she strode towards the front of the Slytherin table in the Great Hall. They both resisted, confused at her behaviour.
"Where are you going? We always sit over here?"
"Just go with it. I have a plan and I need you to come with me"
"Narcissa..."
"Oh, hey guys, is it alright if we sit here? Okay, great, thanks so much, that's so nice of you" Narcissa chattered as she planted herself and her entourage right in the middle of a group of increasingly confused boys. These boys made up the majority of the male Slytherins in her year, and as such she was not at all nervous around them. The same could not be said for the boys themselves, who, at the grand age of thirteen, were unable to do much but gawp at the three pretty girls who had just invaded their dinner time. Travers, a plump boy with round eyes and greasy hair, made the first attempt to verbally acknowledge them.
"Why?" It wasn't great, but it was a start. Narcissa, however, didn't miss a beat.
"I thought it was time we started hanging out properly. You know, as a group... A group... Of friends."
The boys stared at her in bewilderment, the girls with horror. She smiled, reaching out to ladle soup into her bowl, the epitome of calmness.
"I'm Narcissa, by the way"
"We know." She glanced up, to see who had managed to successfully reply to a word she'd spoken. It was Tarquin McTavish, a rather scrawny, red-haired boy, with horribly bad acne. Acne, she considered, that she could probably fix within an hour or so. Perhaps there was hope after all. He shoved a slice of bread into his mouth, before continuing, crumbs spilling back onto the table.
"We know who you are. You're a Black, so we all know."
"That's right" She simpered, trying hard to ignore the orange soup stain dripping off his chin.
"McTavish." He grunted. The rest of the group looked on in stunned fascination.
"So I've heard." Narcissa replied. "Tarquin McTavish. Didn't you blow up the charms cupboard in your first year?" At this, the boys sniggered. McTavish shot them a filthy look and they all become absorbed in the meals in front of them.
"It was a dare" He mumbled, the sudden lack of eye-contact immediately exposing his fabrication.
"Well I think that's very courageous of you, Tarquin McTavish."
An expression of shock passed over his face. "Really? - I mean yeah, yeah it was. I risked a lot to do it, they could have even thrown me out of Hogwarts. But you know me, I never chicken out of anything. Yeah."
"That's good to hear. So we're dating now?"
"Yeah. Wait, what!?" The whole segment of the table were watching them now, absolutely gripped by the strange scene playing out in front of them. Even some of the fifth years, with whom Narcissa never talked, were peering over in interest.
"Dating. You and me. Good? Good."
"Good...?" McTavish stuttered, not quite knowing what to do. Travers's beef dish was slowly escaping from his mouth, which was now fully agape.
"Wonderful. So did you hear the allegations about Hufflepuff Quaffle-Pocking in the match yesterday? I wouldn't be surprised. They'd need a miracle to win otherwise, considering their new line-up."
And so the conversation adapted to a steady pace, although McTavish didn't seem able to stop giving Narcissa incredulous glances from across the table.
Andromeda glanced out the window as she hurried up to the third floor. It was getting late, but she thought she had enough time to take out a couple of books from the library before it closed. After revealing her invite to the Slug Club, Bellatrix had forced her into recounting her entire meeting with Slughorn to the exact detail. Upon hearing of the independent project, her sister, of course, had been delighted, and had demanded that she should get started immediately. A couple of books, Andromeda reasoned, would be enough to look like work for the moment, and it was hardly much effort to find a few relevant text books from the hundreds of shelves across the two floors.
Reaching the top of the stairs, she strode into the library, ready to grab the first books she could find with a passage on Draught of the Living Death, check them out, return to Slytherin and curl up on her bed, ignoring all her responsibilities for the rest of the day. It sounded like a good plan. Except for one tragic flaw. Despite the countless books the library contained, she could not find a single one which contained any relevant information. Had Slughorn done this deliberately, knowing that she had wanted an easy distraction, thus assigning her a subject that seemed almost impossible to research without due care? She thought they had an understanding. Apparently not. With her admiration for the professor sinking by the second, she continued rifling through each book individually, occasionally getting smothered by a think layer of dust. A lot of these books were very old, and their material covers relatively damaged. Remembering a dinner party a few years ago, at which Charis Crouch, the school librarian and also one of her many aunts, had complained excessively about students mistreating her books, Andromeda took care to take out and replace each book with consideration, which further slowed down her pursuit of the Drought.
After some time of flicking through books, each one more unhelpful than the last, she slowly became aware that she was being watched. Irritated, she continued searching. The observer, whoever it was, was still there. Out of the side of her eye, she could see him fidgeting, nervously. He was going to come over, wasn't he? Please don't come over. Nope, there he was, coming straight towards her. Great. On top of not being able to find one single bloody book, she was going to get bothered by some unknown student. Exactly what she always dreamed of.
"Sorry – I was just watching you -" of course you were "And I was wondering if there was anything I could help you with?"
Andromeda made a very poor effort to conceal her sigh, and without looking up from the large leather-bound encyclopaedia she was currently scanning, rattled off her standard answer.
"No thank you. I'm perfectly capable of using the library by myself". This time she didn't even bother to hide the boredom in her voice.
"Oh, okay, that's fine." Came the disembodied voice from behind her. A moments hesitation, and then "Only I need to close up in fifteen minutes, and you've been here since seven, and you still look a bit... lost."
She'd been here for almost an hour? The words made Andromeda look up at the boy who was still awkwardly standing by her. Instantly she spotted the 'Library Assistant' badge attached to his cloak, and felt a bit bad for the way in which she'd brushed him off. Only a little bit, mind, considering that as a general rule she much preferred being left alone. He was tall, with mousy blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He cleared his throat, and she realised that he was waiting for her to say something. Trying not to look like a complete library-illiterate fool, she climbed to her feet, pointedly ignoring the hand he offered to assist her.
"Yes, actually. If I've only got fifteen minutes, then you might as well help me."
"What are you looking for?"
"Draught of the Living Death. Except it's not anywhere, and I've been checking pretty thoroughly."
"Did you look in the Potions area?"
"Of course I looked in the Potions area! It was the first place I went to; I'm not entirely stupid."
The boy instantly looked horrified, and frantically waved his arms, as if trying to bat his previous statement away. "No, no, I didn't mean... It's just, if it's anywhere, it should be in Potions."
He started to hurry off towards to the Potions area again, leaving Andromeda to trail after him. "I think, somewhere on this shelf..." He thought out loud, bringing his wand out his pocket and using it to summon a ladder from further down the aisle. "I suppose it didn't help that the sixth years are doing it for their exams; they've probably already started stockpiling, which Madame Crouch hates" He commented, picking out a dirty stack of parchment tied together with string, and discarding it just as quickly.
"I can imagine" Andromeda chuckled, remembering the gusto with which Charis had recounted one such incident.
Interested, the boy twisted around to look at her. "Do you know her?"
Andromeda, not willing to get into a proper conversation with this strange boy, especially not about her personal life, assumed her best poker face. "She's my aunt". He didn't miss the switch in tone, and became increasingly flustered, turning back to the books.
"Oh. Okay. She's nice. I mean, she's not too bad, considering. Sorry, Living Death. Still looking. Not seeing. Not seeing at all." He slotted three books back into position, defeated. "But with Draught of Living Death - bearing in mind the side effects – well, the main effects too, come to think of it – there's probably more material in the restricted section – wait, where are you going?"
Andromeda glanced back over her shoulder, already several paces away from him. "To the restricted section", she said as she carried on walking.
"Wait – no! Stop! You need a signature to get in there!" The boy shouted, scrambling haphazardly down the ladder, missing several steps as he went.
"The librarian is my aunt" Andromeda called back to him. "She won't mind."
"No, but -"
Andromeda approached the rope to the restricted section. A portrait of Valeria Myriadd hung nearby, and the commotion had just woken her up. The portrait scowled at Andromeda, tugging her fur cloak up around her shoulders indignantly. The boy caught up with her, gasping for breath from his hasty descent down the ladder.
"You need a signature!"
"No I don't. I'll just ask Charis. Where is she?"
The boy faltered, which Andromeda took as a good sign.
"She... she had to clock off early today. I've been left in charge of closing up."
The portrait took a look at them both, and sniggered. "Good luck with that one"
Andromeda saw the opportunity and was quick to take it. There was no guarantee that Aunt Charis would have actually let her into the restricted section, but this boy had no reason to know that. She gave him her brightest smile, and edged towards the rope.
"Oh, that's fine, I can just tell her tomorrow that I've gone in to collect a few books, she won't mind at all". The boy's sudden expression of distrust made her think that the smile had perhaps been a step too far. "So if you just point out a couple of books, I'll check them out and be on my way."
"I really can't..."
"You really can."
The boy glanced around the library, and deciding that the coast was clear, readdressed her.
"Okay fine. But I'm coming with you, and I'm only going to get you one book, because I think I remember there being one the other day. But for Merlin's sake please don't touch anything."
The portrait tutted and made an underhanded remark as the boy lifted up the rope and gestured Andromeda underneath. As if by instinct, he raised his arm to guide her through the section, but moments before he touched her elbow, he thought better of it and dropped his arm to his side. As Andromeda attempted to get a good look at the books lining every shelf, he quickly directed her through to an enclave, where he dived at a pile of books waiting to be re-stocked.
"Aha! Got it!" He proclaimed, holding up a copy of 'Moste Potente Potions'. "I knew I'd seen it somewhere, it only got returned the other day."
Before Andromeda had the chance to consider thanking him, he was off again, couriering the book out of the restricted section and over to the check-out counter. By the time she caught up with him, he had already finished processing it. Holding the book out, he explained "Unfortunately it's only a week's rental, which means that you'll either have to return or renew it by Thursday. That wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that Madame Crouch will remember everything taken from the restricted section for at least the previous 30 days, so she'll know you took it without permission. So if you take this, you have to promise that you'll give it to me to return or renew when I'm working a shift here, otherwise we'll both get into deep trouble. Agreed?"
"Yes, of course" Andromeda relented, grabbing at the book. He swiped it away from her, holding it out of her reach.
"You have to promise that you'll remember to give it to me and not to Madame Crouch!"
"Okay, I promise, I promise, just give me the damn book".
He passed her the book, and pretended not to laugh when the weight of it nearly toppled her off-balance. Not quite knowing whether to say thank you, or goodbye, she settled instead for a half smile, and made her way out of the library, book balanced against her chest with both arms.
Later, when she was back in the comfort of her dormitory, she idly flicked over the cover to see how useful this book actually was. On the inside page was the rental list of all former students who had taken out this particular edition, and she noted with interest that it had been in circulation since 1892. Scanning down the list of names, she spotted many familiar surnames, although no person whom she directly knew. At the bottom, in neat black ink, was the name Andromeda Black, alongside the date. It suddenly occurred to her that she had never introduced herself to the boy in the library, and evidently she hadn't needed to. And who on earth was he? She was relatively sure that she had never seen him in her life; clearly he didn't rotate in the same social circles that she did, inside or outside of Hogwarts. Never mind, she could always ask him next week, when she came to renew the book.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Chapter three is where several long-running story arcs get set in motion, so I hope you're enjoying it. I always appreciate feedback so if you have anything at all - SPG notes, favourite parts / characters, constructive criticism, predictions for the future, requests for the future, do let me know! I'd love to hear from you. As always, please feel free to favourite and follow.