DISCLAIMER: HARRY AND HIS FRIENDS AND ENEMIES DO NOT BELONG TO ME! THEY BELONG TO THE AMAZING J.K ROWLING! ONLY THE PLOT IS MINE!
A/N: This takes place at the start of the Christmas holidays, OotP. Does not follow HBP or DH timelines.
Harry Potter and the Black Legacy
Chapter 3—Back to Black
"Honey, I'll be going out for a while!" Ted Tonks called to his wife, who was currently sitting in the living room, deep in thought.
"Okay honey!" She replied absently, fiddling with a ring. She heard the door close, and she looked down at the ring she was twisting on her slim finger.
The ring itself was silver with an onyx set in the middle with diamonds set around the onyx. Embedded inside the onyx stone was the Black family crest which glimmered proudly in the bright electric light of the Tonks' household. She sighed.
Andromeda thought back to the old times when everything was fine between her and her sisters. She looked at the ring again. Each one of them had a ring, all exactly identical to each other. She wondered sadly if they still wore theirs. Maybe they didn't…because they knew a blood traitor was wearing the same thing.
"What happened to us, Bella?" She murmured.
"Bella!" Seven year-old Andromeda Black shrieked with laughter as her older sister tackled her and started to tickle her mercilessly. The black-haired girl grinned and tickled the fair-haired girl even harder. Andie curled up on the floor, shaking with bouts of giggles.
"S-Stop!" Andie whimpered, tears leaking out of her eyes.
"Never!" Bella declared, straddling her sister and poking her sides rapidly. Andie thrashed around, trying to get up fruitlessly.
"Bella!" Andie squealed as Bella hit her most ticklish spots—the patches of soft skin right underneath her armpits. "Mercy! Mercy!" She laughed, arms flailing.
"Nope!" Bella said, smirking.
"I won't love you anymore!" Andie tried to threaten.
"Yeah sure!" Bella jeered. "Sisters forever, remember?"
"P-Please!" Andie pleaded desperately, gasping for air. "For a sister, you're cruel!" Andie said, pouting slightly. Bella dug her fingers into Andie's sides again, and the poor girl shook with mirth.
"Fine. Only if you say sorry for peeing in my bed." Bella wrinkled her nose disgustedly. Andie burst into laughter again, and Bella tickled her in response. Andie yelped.
"Fine! Fine! Okay! I'm sorry for peeing deliberately in your bed, Bella!" Andie said. "Let me go now…please?" She gulped in precious oxygen. Bella's eyes narrowed.
"You did it deliberately?" Bella asked in disbelief. The girl under her quailed under her burning gaze.
"I'm sorry…I just wanted to prank you…" Andromeda said apologetically. Bella sighed and rolled off her younger sister.
"Okay okay…just don't do it again." For a nine year-old, Bellatrix did the stern look pretty well. Andie nodded furiously.
"I won't!" She promised. Bella grinned and helped her up. "Come on, let's get some ice cream! I'm sweating already." She said, jumping up. "Race you there!" She called, laughing. Andie struggled up.
"Bella!" She cried. Bellatrix stopped mid-stride and turned around.
"Yes Andie?" She asked resignedly.
"Don't go without me." Andie said, making a puppy-dog face. Bella scowled. She could never resist that face!
"Oh alright." She stalked over and took Andie's hand. "Come on." She said. Andie smirked mischievously and whipped her hand away. In the second that Bella was distracted, she pounced on her. Bella shrieked in surprise and fell onto the carpet. The roles were reversed as Andie straddled her older sister, a truly frightening smirk on her young face.
"Oh no." Bella realized her intentions and went pale.
"You shouldn't have done it to me, sister dearest." Andie laughed before she attacked Bella.
"AAAHHH! MERCY!" The screams of Bella rang around the manor, but Andie's evil laughs drowned her pleas of mercy out. She wouldn't stop until Bella begged her to stop, and the other girl rarely pleaded about anything. Ah, revenge was sweet.
Andromeda smiled to herself. Those were the good times. Times when Bella was still innocent and carefree, and still cared for her. She still loves her sister—no doubt about that…however, she felt that she had lost the young Bella Black forever to the darkness and Voldemort. It was an aching, anguished love, a love for a lost sister, a love for a best friend, for a person whom she confided to when she was younger, but she knew her Bella would never come back to her. Only Bellatrix Lestrange, lieutenant of Voldemort, wife to Rodolphus Lestrange, the infamous Death Eater, existed now.
"What wouldn't I do to get her back?" Andromeda asked to no one in particular, sighing. "What wouldn't I do for my Bella…" She said wistfully. She looked down at the ring again, and a laugh reached her ears, echoing in her brain.
"Cissy…" She muttered. Narcissa was another sister lost. Another sister who chose the dark.
"Andie?" A whisper disturbed a drowy Andie. She looked at the door, where a small blond head was visible. Narcissa, her younger sister, peered at her with startlingly blue eyes. Andie smiled subconsciously. Cissy always looked like an angel.
"Yeah?" Andie whispered back softly.
"Can I come in?" Cissy asked hopefully.
"Sure, Cissy." Andie said. The door widened and a small frame slipped in, shutting the door behind her. The blond climbed into Andromeda's bed quickly and hid under the covers.
"Andie, there were monsters chasing me." Cissy said fearfully, huddling closer to Andie, who chuckled. Cissy looked at her with a hurt expression. "Andie, I'm serious!"
Andie chukcled at Cissy. Trust her to believe in monsters at the age of seven.
"It's okay, Cissy. There aren't any monsters here. Mother and Father made sure of that. The house is safe." Andie reassured her.
"But…I'm scared." Narcissa said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Andie hugged her closer.
"Shhh…it's okay, Cissy. I'm here. I'm here." Andie whispered. Now that Bella's gone to Hogwarts, the house was more silent, and Narcissa could only come to Andie for comfort. Cissy sniffed into Andie's nightgown.
"Shh, Cissy, shh…you're safe here, you're safe." Andie stroked Cissy's back gently, lulling her into a sleepy state.
"Can I sweep here tonight?" Cissy slurred, snuggling closer to Andie's warmth.
"Of course you can, Cissy." Andie answered, but Cissy was already asleep. The older girl smiled and stroked Cissy's hair, humming an old lullaby before she, too, succumbed to the touch of Morpheus.
Andromeda reflected on the relationship between Narcissa and her. It wasn't as strong as Bella, partially because Andie did everything with Bella before Cissy came along. Also, the two of them looked uncannily like each other when they were little, so little Cissy was often singled out, being the youngest, and also blond with blue eyes, instead of dark hair and dark eyes.
Andromeda began to think back to when it all started to change. Even in Hogwarts, the three of them stayed close to each other. She frowned, reliving every memory in her head…then she reached a particular memory and started. That must have been it.
"I'll see you, Bella! I have patrol!" Andromeda said hurriedly, eager to see Ted again. She was in her fifth year, a new Prefect. She had met the kind and handsome Ted Tonks from Hufflepuff, who was also a Prefect, and a sort of romance/friendship blossomed between them through their nightly patrols.
"See you, Andie." Bella said unusually coolly and Andromeda scampered off, smiling to herself.
She met Ted in a small corridor on the seventh floor of the Hogwarts castle.
"Ted." She breathed, hugging him.
"Andie!" Ted exclaimed, hugging her back. "Gave them the slip again?" He asked. Andie smiled.
"Yeah. They're completely in the dark about this." She smiled. "Let's go." She said, and they set off at a saunter, not really paying attention to their surroundings.
Their hands linked, they traveled the empty corridors.
"Andie?" Ted asked, breaking the comfortable silence.
"Yes, Teddy?" Andie used her affectionate nickname for him. He blushed slightly.
"Do you want to…go out with me?" He asked shyly.
"Go out…as in be your girlfriend?" Andromeda prodded cautiously. Ted nodded nonchalantly.
"Y-yeah." He stuttered, though, betraying his nervousness.
"Of course I will!" Andromeda squealed. Ted smiled radiantly and leant down to brush her lips with his own. Andromeda's heart thudded in her chest loudly and he drew away after a few seconds.
"I…I have to go." She blushed and set off straight for the dungeons.
"Andie! Andromeda! Wait!" Ted shouted after her, abandoning all discreetness.
Andromeda winced. Bella or another Slytherin must have seen…or Bella wouldn't have reacted like that to her entrance after that night.
Andromeda rushed into the cold dungeons, her breaths coming in short gasps, puffing into the air, materialising as a cloud of white mist. She leaned against the cool wall, taking in deep breaths.
I can't believe he kissed me! She thought furiously. Who gave him permission to?
But you've got to admit that it was good, a sly voice in her head whispered. Andie blushed and touched her lips, thinking back to the kiss. He was so gentle but loving at the same time…
Argh, get a grip, Andromeda Black! He's a Hufflepuff for goodness' sake, and you will not fall for a Mudblood who's in the house of the duffers! She chided herself before marching into the common room, snapping the password irritably.
"Had a good patrol?" Her sister asked, smirking in a knowing way. Andromeda paused, her heart still beating erratically.
Bella was lounging on the couch lazily, twirling her wand, her eyes glittering dangerously. Her beautiful dark curls fell around her face wildly, adding to the effect.
"Yes, why?" Andromeda composed herself quickly.
"Nothing. Is it wrong for an older sister to worry about her younger sibling?" Bella asked. Her voice held a slight mocking tone in it.
"No." Andie said. Bella couldn't possibly know…could she?
No, she won't know, of course she won't. She couldn't know of it! Just the thought of her knowing gave Andromeda the chills, and she controlled them, forcing herself to stay calm.
"Good. It's getting late. Go to sleep, Andromeda." Bellatrix said. Andromeda nodded distractedly, her brain still a panicked mess despite any outward appearances.
She never noticed Bella's lips curl, nor the iciness in her eyes.
It wasn't until Andromeda plopped into her bed that she realized that Bella had used her full name, and not her nickname. Realising that, Andromeda's blood ran cold. Before, it was always Andie. There was only one cause for it.
Bellatrix knew about them.
How naïve she was, to think that Bella didn't know what was going on between her and Ted. Bella knew her too well, and she could never really hide secrets from the older girl. She should never have, anyway. Maybe Bella would have forgiven her if she had told? Maybe.
Then again, there was no use crying over split milk, like Ted always said.
She couldn't help but to think, though, if leaving her family behind had been worth it.
"Don't think like that, Andromeda." She said. "You love Ted and Dora." She said. What scared her was the hesitance in her voice. She did love Ted and Dora…didn't she?
She pondered this for a bit. Loving Ted and Dora…she loved them, yes…but it was a different kind of love.
Loving Ted had always been a romantic love for her when she was young. It had seemed exciting and a rebellious thing to do back then, running off at the age of seventeen, fresh out of Hogwarts. She got pregnant with Dora only months later. Pregnant at seventeen…she didn't regret it, though. She had loved Ted back then. They both loved each other—both hopelessly enamoured and entraced by each other. Still loved, she thought firmly.
Loving Ted now was something almost…obligatory.
No, don't even go there! Andromeda thought fiercely, but her inner sly voice convinced her otherwise.
Loving Theodore Tonks is obligatory, and you know it. You just have to accept it. You're married to him, he expects you to be the same person he married when you were seventeen, and you know it. You also know that you're not the same person anymore. You fed him lies, and you know it.
You also know he is not the same anymore. In the end, he's just a hypocrite. He expects you to be faithful and a good wife, but he isn't faithful to you, and you know it as well. Don't you smell the perfume on him? Come on, you know you never wear perfume. You know you never do anything physically nowadays. He is a man, and men will stay the same. He is seeking pleasure from others, perhaps lowly whores in Knockturn Alley. He certainly would be desperate enough. He would throw them a few Galleons from your vault, and then have his way with them. To think, he chooses them over you, a beautiful pureblood woman from one of the oldest, purest, and best lines.
He isn't a good husband either, Andromeda. You know everything, Andromeda, but you just have to accept it. Don't you see? Can't you see? When has he ever cared for Dora? When has he ever told stories to her when she was little? When had he ever bought anything for her out of his own free will? When has he ever tucked her in? When has he ever done anything, really, for his own flesh and blood? Do you remember how freaked he was when he found out that Dora was a Metamorphmagus? Do you? You do, and you know it. He hates abnormalities, and you realise this as well…don't you?
A good husband…aside from your daughter…when has he bought you jewellery after you turned twenty, after the freshness of all the drama was over? When has he kissed you good morning and night after Dora was born? When has he ever held you when you missed your sisters and family? You know that he isn't right for you, Andromeda. You know it, and you have to accept it.
"I know." Andromeda whispered to herself, staring at the carpet, which was a brilliant red. It hurt her eyes to look at it, so she closed them.
Then let go. Go back, Andromeda.
"I can't." She warred with herself.
Of course you can. Just think of all this you're leaving behind. You probably won't miss anything, while you still miss your sisters and family…don't you?
"Of course I do." Andromeda murmured. "How can I not?"
Then leave, Andromeda, leave. The sly voice whispered. For a long time she had thought of it as the Black side of her, the Slytherin side—the cunning, ruthless, and more intelligent and calculating side of her. She tried to ignore it, but it was coming up too often now.
That's right. Accept who you are, Andromeda. Accept that you're always a Black. Black by blood. Accept what you are, Andromeda. You know, you always know, that it wasn't worth it giving your Bella, your Cissy, your Siri, and your Reggie up for a Hufflepuff. Take your daughter and leave, Andromeda. Leave for your own good. Look where this landed you, Andromeda. LOOK! Regulus is dead, Bellatrix in Azkaban, Sirius a wanted man, and Cissy an ice queen, colder than Lucius Malfoy himself!
"OKAY!" Andromeda screamed. She buried her head in her hand. "I'll leave. I'll go back…I'll go!" She yelled, lurching up, eyes wild. "I'll go! I swear on my honour! I'll leave! I'll go find Sirius first thing tomorrow!" She vowed.
She collapsed onto the floor, chest heaving. She looked rather like Bellatrix at that moment.
"Back to Black." She whispered, looking back at her ring.
So what did you think about the newest chappie? Looks like Sirius' problem is solved, isn't it? :D Well, press the button and leave your thoughts. I need more reviews to go on!