Chapter Twenty

A/N: No reviewers.

The next few weeks went by with no mention of the incident in the hallways. Andromeda seemed a little more reserved around her sister, clearly unsure how to proceed in her relationship with the girl, but she had stopped sneaking around the way she had done before. That was a comfort, at least.

Lucius, meanwhile, seemed none the wiser that she had kept such a secret from him, although he had taken more care to observe her feelings of late, perhaps thinking that he would not have to wait for her to confess her troubles if he was able to spot them himself. It was an unnerving thought for Narcissa, though she tried to conceal how much it frightened her, that Lucius was learning to see straight through her façades. One day soon, it might all come to a head. She could not stand to lose him, but she could not stand to lose Andromeda either.

Her pretence had become almost second nature, enough that she no longer had to think carefully before she lied. It was rather a frightening prospect, when the girl had been taught from such a young age the importance of honesty. Narcissa could see herself changing each time she looked in the mirror; every day, she became more and more like her sisters. More the Slytherin she was born to be and less the Gryffindor she was raised.

She had been stood in front of the mirror when the owl arrived at her window, butting its head impatiently against the glass. The bird was carrying a thick envelope in its beak, the weight of it almost causing it to topple off of the ledge. Narcissa rushed to open the window, gently prising the letter from the owl. With a screech, the bird was gone.

The first thing Narcissa noticed was the familiar handwriting, scrawled and scratched into the page as if fury could be conveyed entirely with the stroke of a pen. Her aunt Walburga. 'Why would she write to me?' the young girl wondered. Her aunt had never been her greatest fan; she thought her far too ill-bred to be a model of Pureblood excellence, no matter how hard she tried to learn. 'Something must be wrong. Otherwise, she would've let Bella write, or waited until I came home for the holidays to tell me. There's only a fortnight left of term. It has to be important.'

Narcissa's hands shook as she broke the seal on the letter, cursing softly as she drew her finger across the edge of the page, a sharp pain accompanying the growing puddle of red. The girl brought the injured digit to her mouth, trying to stop the bleeding. Her palate was overwhelming with the metallic taste of blood. She had always hated blood; it seemed to have done her more harm than good over the years.

Narcissa,
I write to inform you of a great betrayal in the family. Your sister Andromeda has declared her intent to marry a Mudblood boy, Edward Tonks, in utter disregard for her blood and standing. She has shamed the whole Black line with this folly and refuses to rescind her decision, even being fully aware of the consequences of such treachery.
From this day forward, Andromeda shall no longer be acknowledged as a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. She will be removed from the family tree at Grimmauld Place, from all books of Pureblood lineage and any family bequests. She will not benefit financially from any ventures undertaken by the family and her marriage, along with any children produced from it, shall never be officially recognised. It shall be as if the woman no longer exists.
I hope this letter finds you well and that this news is not difficult to read. You must remember that it was Andromeda's choice to betray the family and that she alone is responsible for the consequences of her actions.
Toujours pur,
Walburga Black.

Beads of blood dripped onto the page, staining it like teardrops. Narcissa's wound was long forgotten, the intense sting overwhelmed by the pain clawing at her heart. She had tried so hard to protect her sister, lied to people she had never imagined lying to. She had chosen her sister above her morality, her integrity, even her heart… and Andromeda had chosen Tonks anyway.

Narcissa knew just how difficult it was to choose between two people you loved- she probably knew that better than anyone else at Hogwarts- but that did not make the pain any easier to bear. In fact, it might make it feel a little worse, knowing that she had cast aside the love she held for Professor McGonagall for the sake of a girl who did not value her more than a schoolgirl crush.

'How can I never see her again?' Narcissa wondered, fighting back tears. It seemed an impossible task, when she had relied so heavily on her sisters during her time at Hogwarts. Bella had graduated, spending her days skulking around in a dark cloak, her actions shrouded in secrecy. If her sister wanted advice from her, she would hardly know where to find her. 'Andromeda is all I've got. How can I have that taken away from me? How can I take that away from myself?'

But the letter did not give her a choice, at least not in writing. The alternative was there, written between the lines, the unthinkable betrayal that no one would ever consider possible of her. Then again, no one had expected it of Andromeda.

The idea lingered in her mind. Would the life of a Blood Traitor really be so terrible? She would have Andromeda, and Professor McGonagall would surely take her under her wing again. She could get a job once she left school, spend her weekends playing with Andromeda's children.

The budding smile faded. Lucius. The ultimate in Pureblood breeding, he and his family could not accept a Blood Traitor bearing their name. True, she was still young, it would be many years until she was married. But she could not stand the thought that Lucius could be taken from her forever. 'Here are these difficult choices again.' she thought bitterly, clasping her hands together. The cut on her finger stung deeply, an embodiment of the agony tearing her heart asunder.

Andromeda had chosen her lover over her family, extracting herself from the society that had birthed and raised her, closed the door and thrown away the key. Narcissa's choice was not quite so extreme. If she did nothing, she could keep her eldest sister, her aunt, her cousins, her friends and most of all, Lucius. True, she would lose Andromeda. But like Aunt Walburga had said, it was her own fault.

Turning to the fire crackling in the grate at the edge of the dormitory, Narcissa tore the letter into strips, until it was nothing more than a shower of confetti in ivory, black and red. She watched the scraps twist and turn on the fire, blackening and turning to ash. 'That's the tell.' she told herself, trying to convince her gentle heart that her head had made the right decision. 'Anything put through the fire comes out black in the end, just as I have. Andromeda was never a true Black. If she was, she never would have hurt us the way she did. If she was, she would put have family above everything. It's for the best that she's gone.'

Narcissa could almost hear her aunt whispering her congratulations, praising her for her loyalty. But all the girl could see was her sister's face in her mind's eye, the hundreds of times they had laughed together ringing through her ears. It was just as well she had those memories, she supposed, however painful they might be. They were all she had left now of the girl she had once called sister.

A/N: I think Narcissa in this story would be very conflicted about Andromeda and although things will stray from canon on that issue eventually, they haven't quite yet. Hope you enjoyed and please review!