Andromeda's body trembled like it had been hit by a large earthquake as she fought to keep herself from crying. She wasn't sure the gravity of the situation had truly struck her. Any minute now, the reality of her sister's disappearance would hit her, and she'd fall to her knees on the floor while her heart broke in two.

What happened? Where was her sister? One minute, Andromeda was running upstairs to her bedroom to look for her missing gloves. The next, she was walking back into the ballroom, empty-handed as she searched for her sister's beautiful white curls, only to fall short. Lucius Malfoy was there at the edge of the room, laughing at something one of his stupid friends—looked like the Nott boy—said, but Narcissa wasn't there. Andromeda spent at least half an hour looking for Cissy, checking the lavatories and her chambers and all the private wings Cissy liked to daydream in, but she wasn't there.

Something was wrong.

"Mummy," Andromeda said hushedly as she pulled her mother aside from what was undoubtedly her fourth or fifth glass of wine. "Where's Cissy?"

Her mother sneered, revealing yellowed teeth stained with red wine. Andromeda wanted to cover her nose from her mother's awful breath. For a woman so keen on appearances, Druella never failed to let her fondness for liquor take control. "Why should I know where that little ungrateful brat went?"

Andromeda was glad she pulled her mother aside, because if Druella was talking badly about Cissy—the golden child of the entire Black family, save for Regulus—then she must have been completely sloshed. Besides, she was really trying to talk herself out of slapping some sense into her mother. "You were supposed to be keeping an eye on her! She's not with Lucius, so where is she?"

Druella waved her hand nonchalantly. "She's probably with Septimus. You know, he said he'll marry her if the Malfoy boy doesn't object. Perhaps your sister is seeing how advantageous a man with wealth like his could be."

Druella smirked, and this time, Andromeda did slap her. Lightly on the arm, but the sentiment was there. Plus, it was better than what Bella would have done if she had heard.

Bella! Yes, of course! Why hadn't Andromeda gone to her first? The only person who cared for Cissy as much as Andromeda was Bella. Andromeda left her cruel mother and went in search of her sister's wild, dark curls. But after minutes of searching for her other sister, Bella was starting to panic. Where is she? And where's Cissy?

Each moment sent Andromeda's mind racing more and more as she thought about her poor, defenseless sister, wherever she was. There was no doubt in Andromeda's mind that something was wrong. Cissy loved balls and dancing, and she'd been determined to spend every minute by Lucius's side. Andromeda knew that Cissy probably wouldn't even run to the lavatory if it meant stepping away from him, so the fact that she was gone—and still missing, even over an hour later—wasn't good.

Cissy, with her soft voice and softer eyes, could never hurt anyone. If she'd been targeted by one of the many annoying muggleborns that tried to attack events like these, she didn't stand a chance. Her sister was all ribbons and dresses and happily ever afters. She believed in fairytales and true love with white-haired boys. She was the best of them. The last good thing the Black family had.

So where was she?

After several moments, Andromeda finally spotted Bella out in the corridor, frantically looking around a table with a murderous gleam in her eyes. Her sister's eye makeup was smudged, and Andromeda really hoped that didn't mean what she thought it meant.

Bella's a big girl, she reminded herself. She can take care of herself.

Still, Andromeda's jaw feathered as she thought about Bella with the wretched man she was infatuated with. The man who was far too old for her, the man who manipulated and lied every chance he got, the man who every pureblood family seemed to worship with his crazy ideas about ridding the world of Muggleborns and bringing pureblood society to its former glory. Andromeda didn't believe in pureblood supremacy, mainly because a society that sold off child brides couldn't be good. She didn't think Muggleborns should be antagonizing the purebloods like the radicals sometimes did, but she didn't want to rid the world of them. That man, with his snake-like eyes and silver smile, was dangerous.

Bella somehow knew something was wrong before Andromeda could say anything. "Dromeda, where's Cissy?"

"She's gone," Andromeda whispered, grabbing onto Bella's hand with what little strength her heart felt. "I can't find her."

Bella's eyes widened with unmistakable panic. Andromeda knew that if someone touched their sister, they would pay with their blood. "Gone? What do you mean 'gone '?"

"I mean that I've looked everywhere for her. She's missing."

"She's with Lucius."

Andromeda shook her head, beckoning Bella to the hallway leading to the ballroom and pointing at the boy who seemed to be searching the room, his eyes roaming out the windows at the gardens. Probably for Narcissa, Andromeda realized. Cissy would have warmed at the thought that the boy's normally tamed white hair was starting to fray.

"No, she's not. She hasn't been for quite a while."

Bella's face fell. "Well what the fuck are we doing standing around? We have to look for her, we have—"

But they were interrupted by the sound of a whimper so quiet, Andromeda wasn't even entirely sure her mind hadn't made it up. She froze, listening for it once more, only to hear it again, now even closer.

Without even thinking, Andromeda took off down the hall, sprinting as fast as she could in the wretched heels her mother forced her to wear. Cissy, her mind screamed. That was Cissy.

The huffing breaths from right over her shoulder told Andromeda that Bella thought the same thing.

Finally, at the end of the long hallway, tucked behind one of her mother's wretched black velvet curtains, sat a pair of little feet in tiny ballet flats. Andromeda recognized her sister's trembling form instantly, even without seeing her pouty, petal-colored lips or her white, curled hair.

"Cissy?" she whispered, slowly walking toward the curtains as if she were approaching a wounded animal.

Bella was much less tactful. She ripped back the curtains, only to gasp when she saw Narcissa sitting there. All of the air left Andromeda's lungs, and any breath she took after felt like it was crawling through knives in her throat. Narcissa sat there, her legs curled up against her chest as her body shook. Her curls were completely askew, the bow missing from the back. Her mascara was faintly running underneath her eyes, her cheeks were red as if she'd been crying, and there was a faint bit of blood on her lip.

"Who did this to you?" Bella growled dangerously. "I'll fucking kill them."

Narcissa didn't answer, instead turning those heavenly blue eyes onto Andromeda and whispering, "I want Luc."

"What?" Andromeda could hardly believe what Cissy was saying. She wanted Luc? The entire point of tonight was to show Lucius and the other Malfoys what a perfect little pureblood Narcissa could be. Andromeda loathed the whole thing and wished her sister got to marry for love, but the truth was, out of all the riches in the world, that was the one luxury they couldn't afford. And anyway, even if Narcissa could marry for love, she probably would have still wanted Lucius.

But did she really want him to see her like this? Narcissa looked as if she'd been inside a tornado, and all Andromeda wanted to do was carry her sister upstairs, run a hot bath for her, and stroke her hair until all the fear left Cissy's eyes again. Bella might have been ready to kill whoever had been the cause of all this strife, but Andromeda was ready to tuck her sister away from the world until it couldn't touch her again.

"Did Luc do this to you?" Bella snarled, either ignoring the terrified look on Narcissa's face or not caring enough to curb her temper. Andromeda wanted to scold her big sister for not being sensitive right now, but even if she did, Bella would ignore her. Most of the time, she was too cool to be compassionate.

"Luc," Narcissa whined. "Luc, Luc, Luc!"

Andromeda winced as her sister's voice got higher and higher. "I want Luc!" Narcissa sobbed, and the broken sound cleaved Andromeda's heart in two. Tears were streaming down her rosy cheeks, and that soft lower lip that always pouted whenever Cissy didn't get what she wanted was now trembling just as much as she was. "Please, Luc!"

Her cries must have settled down Bella's temper, because the older girl simply said, "I'll go get him." Then, Bella left, stomping down the hallway as she left to find a boy she once called "shallow and pedantic."

"Cissy," Andromeda whispered, smoothing back her sister's hair and wiping away her tears. "What happened?"

Narcissa shook her head.

"Cissy, please. I won't tell anyone. Not even Bella if you don't want me to." Well, that was a lie. The sisters may not have been perfect to each other, and they had their differences, but they told each other everything always. The only people the Black family could truly rely on were themselves—and that was a vow they took seriously.

"Please," Narcissa rasped before wiping away her running mascara. "I just want Luc."

Andromeda's lips thinned, but she nodded. If something rattled her sweet, darling sister this much, it had to be bad. Perhaps Narcissa wasn't ready to talk about it yet. Perhaps she would later, once her emotions subsided and she'd washed away the pain of today. Andromeda made a mental note to ask Regulus for advice. He was always the most emotionally in-tune out of all of them, even though he was much younger than them.

Footsteps echoed from down the hallway. Andromeda turned to see not Bella, but Lucius Malfoy striding down the empty corridor. Andromeda resisted the urge to frown at the way he walked—like he owned even the Black family's stately manor—and instead reminded herself that this is what Cissy wanted, that even though she deplored how juvenile and arrogant he was, at least he was here.

"What's wrong?" he asked in a deadly voice oddly similar to Bella's. The menacing sound sent shivers down Andromeda's spine.

Lucius knelt down by Narcissa's side and gently cupped her cheek. He stroked her soft skin with his thumb, and Andromeda was amazed at how gently this teenage boy treated her sister. Perhaps she'd misjudged him... again. Most boys his age wouldn't show this level of care to a crying girl, especially not one that was supposed to be "perfect" for him.

"Ciss," he whispered, looking straight into her eyes. "What's wrong? What can I do, my love?"

My love, Andromeda realized with shock. She knew Narcissa had a crush on this boy, but had she been keeping the depths of it from Andromeda and Bella? What happened to telling each other everything?

Andromeda had always thought that Lucius saw Narcissa as a pretty trophy, a prize to keep by his side to say that he'd won the most beautiful girl of all. But if that were true, why was his jaw clenching as if he wanted to tear apart the world for the tears in her eyes? Why did he touch her like she was the queen of his entire world? Why did he look like he cared?

Lucius turned to Andromeda and glared at her. "Did you do this?"

The venom in his voice unnerved her, and set off what little of a temper Andromeda Black had. "No," she replied coolly. "I would never hurt her."

"So she's been missing all night, crying back here with you, and you have no idea why?"

His voice suggested he didn't believe her at all, and Andromeda supposed that if the roles were reversed, she wouldn't have believed him either so she said, "That's correct. Bella and I just found her."

Lucius finally dropped his glare before turning back to Narcissa. "I'm going to go get you a tonic, my love. Will you stay here?"

Narcissa nodded, her eyes brightening the more she looked at him. Lucius nodded once. Then, he stood and strode off without another word.

Andromeda was about to ask her sister what in the devil was that all about when Bella came back. This time, her hands were covered in blood, her curls were slightly askew, and her eyes were dark.

Why does she always have blood on her? Andromeda groaned mentally. "What is it?" she asked instead.

"Come with me. Both of you." Bella's voice was darker than her eyes, and it slightly unnerved Andromeda. Was it that dreaded Dark Lord again? Had he done something to hurt not one, but two Black sisters?

Andromeda was just about to suggest that they all run away together—perhaps to America, where he would never dream of going—when Bella walked up to Narcissa and kissed her on the forehead. The gentleness in her actions confused Andromeda. Bella was never kind or compassionate. Was whatever she had to show them that terrible?

"What happened?" Andromeda hissed under her breath so Narcissa, lost in her mind as she clutched onto Bella, couldn't hear. "Where are we going?"

"The gardens," was Bella's reply.

"The gardens? What? Why?"

"Because," Bella muttered, "I found a body."

Finally had the inspiration to pick this story back up so hopefully your updates are more consistent! Enjoy my loves :)))