I came downstairs on the last day of the holiday to find my mother sitting at the breakfast table, alone. My heart sank at the scowl on her face. She should have been in a good mood, because the Malfoys were coming to dinner that night.

She looked up immediately when I entered and her scowl deepened. "You don't happen to know where your harlot of a sister is, do you?"

"Um- is she still sleeping?" I asked hesitantly.

It was the wrong thing to say. "No, she damn well is not- at least not in this house!" mother snapped. Then she paused to take a deep breath and seemingly attempt to calm herself. "She didn't sleep in her bed last night, and she didn't seem to feel the need to inform me of her whereabouts."

"Oh," I said. Suddenly, I was worried. "Have you asked the Rosiers if they know where she is? Or the Wilkes?"

"No. I suppose that might be a good idea," she admitted reluctantly, glaring at me. She stood up stiffly and walked through to the drawing room, where our largest fireplace was. I thought of following her- I was worried about Bella- but decided it might be best to keep out of mother's way if I could. Instead, I served myself a bowl of porridge and ate quickly as I waited for mother to reappear.

Cissy came downstairs a few minutes later, but she wasn't hugely worried when I told her that Bella was missing. "She's probably just doing it to get to mother or something. You know what Bella's like." She yawned and began to butter a slice of toast. "She'll turn up."

I stared at her incredulously. "You aren't worried at all?"

"Bella can look after herself. Honestly, with the amount of curse books she has in her room these days I'd be more worried about the health of anyone silly enough to try and kidnap her. And mother has the nerve to say that I spend too much money!" She sipped her tea delicately. "Looking forward to seeing Lucius later?"

I gaped at her, but before I could there was an eruption of shouting in the next room. "What on earth did you think you were doing? It's bad enough to be lumbered with a daughter with seemingly no chance of ever finding a husband, but you act as though you were above the rest of us!"

Seemingly, Bella was back.

"I'm sorry, mother, but I'm not a child-"

"You're a child as long as you're unmarried and living under my roof!"

"You have no idea-"

"Not even an owl to tell us where you were-"

"It was important-"

"The things people are starting to say about you-"

"Marriage is for the weak-"

"Soon be completely unmarriageable!"

Cissy and I exchanged glances before sneaking upstairs in my room, though, I could hear the argument raging downstairs. I pulled a pillow over my ears to block it out. With only a few precious hours left before the Malfoys arrived, I escaped from my worries the way I always did now: into fantasies of the world of Elizabeth Bennet, and a marriage to a man who would sweep me away from my worries and save my sister.

It wasn't until later in the day that I managed to get the full story from Bella: she and Evan Rosier had apparently spent the night in London, although she refused to say what they had been doing. I thought there was a new coldness to her manner, and remembered Dora's suspicions about Evan. I shivered. What if Bella was involved in the same kind of activities as my late uncle? But no, Bella wouldn't- she could be difficult at times, but she wouldn't kill anyone. She certainly wouldn't torture anyone.

Would she? asked a nasty voice in my head. I remembered some of Bellatrix's nastier comments about muggles, the harsh punishments she would inflict on house elves, the way her face glowed every time the "Dark Lord" or his "Death Eaters" were mentioned in the Daily Prophet… I suddenly realised that I wasn't as sure as I once would have been. I hardly knew my own sister anymore.

"Andromeda!" Mother screeched at me a few hours later, storming into my room without knocking. I realised that I must have fallen asleep. "What on Earth do you think you're doing? The Malfoys have arrived, and your hair and face are in disarray. Anyone would think you didn't know that your fiancé was coming tonight. It's bad enough to have your sister burdening us, with no sign of an engagement. I certainly don't need you following in her footsteps."

"Sorry, mother," I said meekly. "I had a headache, and I must have lost track of the time."

She sighed loudly. "Yes, well." She grabbed my arm and wrenched me to my feet. She looked me over critically, and then began to draw her wand over my hair and face several times, muttering spells under her breath.

Finally, she pulled away and narrowed her eyes at me. "That's a bit better, I suppose. Find yourself something to wear and hurry downstairs as soon as you're presentable. Lucius will be wanting to see you- I hope." She rushed off, leaving me standing alone in the middle of my bedroom.

I reluctantly turned to my wardrobe and the many sets of dress robes within. I picked out a pair in canary-yellow that I knew looked terrible on me and were about a size too large. I glanced in the mirror and felt a kind of grim satisfaction. The silky yellow fabric made me look like an anaemic flobberworm- maybe Malfoy would reconsider our engagement when he saw me. Well, I could wish.

Lucius looked up and smiled briefly when he saw me. "Ah, Andromeda. You finally managed to join us. And looking absolutely-" he paused to and glanced over my robes again- "-luminous, as always."

"Thank you," I said. "And you, of course, are handsome as ever." We both smiled falsely at each other.

Mother gave me a nasty look. "An interesting choice of robes, Andromeda. Your taste doesn't often coincide with Aunt Winifred's." Aunt Winifred was a relative whose dress sense was famously poor- the last time I had seen her, she had been wearing low-cut robes in a brilliant shade of magenta teamed with a stuffed peacock on her green pointed hat, and an incredibly obvious red bra.

I smiled sweetly. "Well, I thought that since I have so much to celebrate at the moment, I'd try wearing something bright."

Luckily, Lucius's presence prevented her from saying much more- and in any case, at that moment a house elf appeared by her side and bowed deeply. "Would both Mistresses and Master Malfoy care to follow me through to the table? Dinner will be served shortly." The three of us followed the elf through to the dining room, where everyone else was already sitting.

A silence fell over the table for a few moments when we sat down- the silence of people who have little to talk about but are forced together by a joint need for social standing. Mother was the one to break the silence. "That's a lovely pair of earrings, Lucinda. You must tell me where you got them."

Mrs Malfoy reached up and touched her earrings, as if to check which she was wearing. "Oh, these? They're nothing special- they just happened to catch my eye in Borlett's Boutique last time I was in Hogsmeade." She smiled casually, as if to challenge my mother by dropping the name of one of the most expensive stores in the village.

Mother smiled back dauntlessly. "Oh, really? I'm surprised I haven't seen them then. I love Borlett's- I simply cannot visit Hogsmeade without buying a few pieces."

The two of them launched into a comparison of their spending habits, and my father began a conversation about politics at the Ministry with Mr Malfoy, with Lucius occasionally joining in. Once again, I found myself slipping into daydreams- most of them based on the world of Jane Austen. Even so, the dinner seemed to last forever.

I was very glad that I would soon be going back to school.