The Black Princess (Chapter Six)
Title: The Black Princess
Author: Gamma Orionis, gamma_x_orionis
Rating: PG-13 (Likely to change to R)
Characters/Pairings: Bellatrix/Andromeda/Narcissa
Word Count: 8732 thus far
Summary: Andromeda Black was named for a princess, but she is no such thing. She is a sister, a daughter, a lover, a friend, an outcast and a sinner.
Author's Notes: In progress, for a challenge on fanfiction.net. In the first few chapters, incest is not present, but it becomes clearer as the story goes on.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
It seemed - much to Andromeda's surprise - that hardly any time at all passed between when she was bidding her eldest sister goodbye and when she greeted her again. September, October and November had flown past, though Andromeda was not quite sure where the days had gone. All she knew was that soon - gloriously soon - she was meeting her big sister on the train platform again.
A profound change had come over Bellatrix since she had left for Hogwarts that autumn. It was most peculiar, Andromeda thought, staring at the almost unrecognizable woman in front of her. And yes, she was a woman.
Bellatrix held herself taller than she had used to - quite a feat, as she had always had quite straight posture. But she didn't look stiff either - in fact, she seemed more at ease than Andromeda had ever seen her.
"Andi…"
Bellatrix had to stoop to hug her sister - she must have grown half a foot, and she towered over Andromeda.
"Have you been a good sister?" she whispered in her ear, and Andromeda nodded immediately and enthusiastically.
"The best I could be."
"Good…"
Bellatrix straightened and moved over to Narcissa, though her smile became noticeably more forced than when she had been speaking to Andromeda. "And how are you, Cissy?"
"Good," Narcissa said quietly, sliding one finger between her lips and sucking, a nervous trait that she had developed despite Andromeda's best efforts to curb it. Andromeda gently pulled her hand away from her mouth.
Bellatrix gave her youngest sister a quick, cursory hug, then moved on to her parents. Both Druella and Cygnus seemed so overjoyed to see Bellatrix that Andromeda had to remind herself that just a few months ago, they had been constantly admonishing her for any behaviour that they deemed unsuitable. Now, they acted almost as though Bellatrix was a young lady instead of simply their daughter.
Andromeda was not fooled. They were in public now - of course Mother and Father would behave with more dignity towards their eldest daughter. They would not want other families to suggest that they were unsupportive of Bellatrix's accomplishments.
As Andromeda had suspected, the moment that they disapparated from Platform 9 3/4, the charade was dropped.
"What are you wearing?" Druella demanded. Bellatrix glanced down at herself. "What?"
"This!" Druella pulled down the edge of Bellatrix's shirt and revealed a slip strap over her shoulder. Andromeda looked at it curiously as Bellatrix's face flamed crimson. "Mother!"
"Cygnus, would you give us a moment?" Druella said, and Cygnus stepped out immediately, taking Narcissa with him. Druella did not notice Andromeda still watching, though Bellatrix cast her younger sister a desperate glance.
Druella was quickly popping the buttons of Bellatrix's school shirt undone, despite Bellatrix trying to slap her hands away. "Mother, stop it!"
After only a few moments, Druella finished with the buttons and yanked the shirt off of Bellatrix, whose face turned crimson. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest, dropping her head so her hair shielded her face.
"This!" Druella pointed at Bellatrix's chest. "What is this?"
Bellatrix crossed her arms still more tightly. "Stop it, mother."
"Nonsense! Uncross your arms and stand up straight - you are a Black!"
Bellatrix's lip trembled and she dropped her arms, digging her fingers into the fabric of her skirt as she lifted her head to look Druella dead in the eye.
On her upper body, she was wearing a peculiar sort of garment. Andromeda had never seen anything quite like it. It was something like a white shirt, but it only went to just below the swell of Bellatrix's breasts, and cupped them tightly. Andromeda found herself staring against her will at the soft bumps. It felt as though it had been a long time before she had seen any girl's breasts but her own, and she was rather eager to compare how much she had grown in comparison to Bellatrix's.
Druella plucked at the fabric of the garment on Bellatrix's upper body. "I ask again, Bellatrix, what is this?"
"It's just a bra, mother," Bellatrix mumbled, twisting her skirt between her fingers.
"Exactly! Why in the name of heaven are you wearing this... this disgusting thing? Good Pureblood girls do not wear these! We have corsets for a reason, Bellatrix - where is your corset, answer me that!"
"I- it was-" Bellatrix's cheeks were scarlet. "I did not want to wear it at school. None of the other girls wore them!"
"That is because the other girls are common! You are a Black and you ought to dress accordingly! Do you want people going around saying what a slut you are?"
"A what?" Bellatrix's mouth flew open and her eyes filled up with tears. "Mother!"
Andromeda wished she could do something to help. She didn't know what a slut was, but judging by Bellatrix's reaction, it was a very, very bad thing. She clenched her fists in her skirt, bit her lip hard, mentally praying that her mother would let the girls go up to their room and that she, Andromeda, wouldn't have to keep watching this.
"You heard me!" Druella fumed. "You are a Black, you should learn better than to behave like such a slut! And your age is irrelevant, you should know! It doesn't matter if you're only eleven years old, your reputation is still important!"
"Fine, then!" shouted Bellatrix, apparently losing all control. She stamped her foot hard, then grabbed the piece of fabric covering her breasts and ripped it off, throwing it to the ground. "Fine! I won't wear it anymore! All right? Will that make you happy with me for ten bloody minutes?"
Andromeda swallowed hard, trying not to look at Bellatrix's bare breasts. She dropped her eyes to the floor, biting her lip.
"Don't you dare speak to your mother that way!"
"Why?" Bellatrix screamed. "You can speak to me any way you like!"
"I am your mother! For the love of mercy, Bellatrix, cover yourself!"
"I won't!" shouted Bellatrix, face flushed crimson with anger. "You can't make me! I don't want to! And I wish you weren't my mother!"
With that, Bellatrix whirled and picked up her skirts, dashing out. Druella was left dumbfounded, staring after her with fury painted all over her face. "Why- why, that- thatgirl!" she fumed, quite incoherently. "She's going all wrong!" Then Druella stormed out as well, leaving Andromeda alone.
)O(
After the girls had been sent to bed that night, and Andromeda was quite sure that Cygnus and Druella would not be returning to check on them, she crawled out of her ed and under Bellatrix's blankets. Bellatrix was lying on her stomach, her face buried in her pillow, perfectly still.
"Bella?"
Andromeda heard Bellatrix sniff heartily into the pillow, then she slowly lifted her head. The soft white silk pillowcase was tearstained.
"What?" she snapped, her mouth twisted into an almost exaggerated frown. Andromeda recoiled. Bellatrix's anger was a dangerous thing, and while she, Andromeda, had never yet been on the receiving end of one of Bella's fits of temper, she didn't want that to change.
"I'm s- s- sorry," she stammered. She crawled backwards, trying to make an escape, get back to her bed before her sister's wrath turned on her. "I didn't mean to- to bother you…"
"Oh for…" Bellatrix sat up, hastily dashing tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Andi… I didn't mean…" She bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I was just… I've missed you, Andi."
Andromeda felt her cheeks growing warm and thanked heaven that the bedroom they shared was lit only by the white moonlight streaming in from the window, which bleached everything of its colour. With any luck at all, Bellatrix would not see the blush of pride and pleasure rising in Andromeda's cheeks.
Bellatrix missed me.
"Here." Bellatrix held out her arms and Andromeda crawled into them, happy to feel the warmth of her older sister's embrace for the first time in what seemed like forever. She laid her head on the soft, slightly worn white silk of Bellatrix's nightdress, rubbing her cheek against it with a happy smile. Bellatrix petted her hair the same way she might have done to a cat.
"It's been horrible here without you," Andromeda confided quietly to her sister. It was wonderful to be able to say what she felt again - Narcissa wouldn't have understood if Andromeda had tried to talk to her, Cygnus and Druella would have seen the sentiment as ample cause for punishment, and Andromeda had no friends outside of the family.
"I wish you could come to Hogwarts with me," Bellatrix said. "I can't wait until you're eleven… you're going to love it there."
Andromeda sighed wistfully. "What's it like?"
Bellatrix lay back on her pillows with a slight, happy smile on her lips. Her long black curls - grown three or four inches longer than Andromeda's in the time since September - fanned out beautifully around her head like a black halo. She toyed idly with one of the black silk ribbons that decorated the neck of her nightdress.
"It's amazing," she said, her voice softer and dreamier than Andromeda had ever heard it. "You can't even imagine…"
"Of course I can imagine! Tell me!" Andromeda demanded. She was desperate for escape - even if it was only imaginary escape - from the dreary repetition of life at Black Manor.
Bellatrix bit her lip. "I don't know if I can explain…"
"Of course you can! Try! Please, Bella, just try to explain what it's like!"
There was a pause, then Bellatrix said, "You can do anything you like there. No one cares about propriety, not even a little bit. I mean, there are rules but… but they're different." She rolled over and propped her head up on her hand to look her sister in the eye. "The rules are things like not using magic in the corridors between classes, or not hexing people… but… but we can dance down the halls or laugh out loud or hug each other and no one stops us. No one would even want to. Can you even imagine that, Andi?"
Andromeda shook her head, eyes wide and astonished. How… strange… she thought. How strange it must be to be able to behave freely and openly with everyone…
"And," Bellatrix added, "we don't have to wear corsets."
"What was that thing you were wearing earlier? The one Mother got all upset over…"
"Oh, that." To Andromeda's surprise, Bellatrix giggled a little. "It's a bra… it's like… well, it does the same thing as a corset, it makes your figure nicer, but it only covers your breasts, and it does it without crushing your ribs in."
"Why wouldn't Mother want you to wear it, then?"
Bellatrix shrugged one shoulder. "Because Blacks are supposed to have crushed ribs, I suppose," she said quite scornfully. "I don't know… but let me tell you, Andi," she added, grinning, "once your breasts start really growing, you're going to want one instead of a corset. It's a lot more comfortable."
"My breasts are growing!"
Bellatrix giggled a little at Andromeda's affronted expression. "Sure they are…"
"They are!"
"Well, I can't tell under that corset, you know," Bellatrix told her. "You could still be as flat as when I saw you last."
Andromeda's cheeks went pink and she pulled of her nightgown, yanking at the strings of the corset that she was now required to wear even to bed. Bellatrix watched with raised eyebrows as Andromeda struggled until the corset was off.
"Hm," Bellatrix said softly. "I suppose they are growing after all…"
Andromeda blushed even deeper. "I told you so."
"Yes, you did…"
The way Bellatrix was looking at Andromeda made her squirm, and she pulled her nightdress back on, though she left her corset off. She settled next to Bellatrix, curling against her as Bellatrix pulled the silk covers over the two of them.
"Bella?" Andromeda asked quietly.
"Mm hmm?"
"What's a…" Andromeda struggled to remember what it was that their mother had said. "What's a slut?"
Bellatrix stiffened. There was a long, painful silence before she answered.
"It's a girl who acts wrong," she said at last.
"Oh…" Andromeda pondered. "Like us? Like how we act wrong by sleeping together in the same bed?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Are we sluts, then?"
There was a pause, then Bellatrix burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"N- nothing," Bellatrix said through fits of giggles.
"Then answer. Am I a slut?"
Bellatrix stopped laughing, and she looked at Andromeda, her face going surprisingly serious.
"Maybe… when you're older."
Chapter 6 at Fanfiction.net
Author: Gamma Orionis, gamma_x_orionis
Rating: PG-13 (Likely to change to R)
Characters/Pairings: Bellatrix/Andromeda/Narcissa
Word Count: 8732 thus far
Summary: Andromeda Black was named for a princess, but she is no such thing. She is a sister, a daughter, a lover, a friend, an outcast and a sinner.
Author's Notes: In progress, for a challenge on fanfiction.net. In the first few chapters, incest is not present, but it becomes clearer as the story goes on.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
It seemed - much to Andromeda's surprise - that hardly any time at all passed between when she was bidding her eldest sister goodbye and when she greeted her again. September, October and November had flown past, though Andromeda was not quite sure where the days had gone. All she knew was that soon - gloriously soon - she was meeting her big sister on the train platform again.
A profound change had come over Bellatrix since she had left for Hogwarts that autumn. It was most peculiar, Andromeda thought, staring at the almost unrecognizable woman in front of her. And yes, she was a woman.
Bellatrix held herself taller than she had used to - quite a feat, as she had always had quite straight posture. But she didn't look stiff either - in fact, she seemed more at ease than Andromeda had ever seen her.
"Andi…"
Bellatrix had to stoop to hug her sister - she must have grown half a foot, and she towered over Andromeda.
"Have you been a good sister?" she whispered in her ear, and Andromeda nodded immediately and enthusiastically.
"The best I could be."
"Good…"
Bellatrix straightened and moved over to Narcissa, though her smile became noticeably more forced than when she had been speaking to Andromeda. "And how are you, Cissy?"
"Good," Narcissa said quietly, sliding one finger between her lips and sucking, a nervous trait that she had developed despite Andromeda's best efforts to curb it. Andromeda gently pulled her hand away from her mouth.
Bellatrix gave her youngest sister a quick, cursory hug, then moved on to her parents. Both Druella and Cygnus seemed so overjoyed to see Bellatrix that Andromeda had to remind herself that just a few months ago, they had been constantly admonishing her for any behaviour that they deemed unsuitable. Now, they acted almost as though Bellatrix was a young lady instead of simply their daughter.
Andromeda was not fooled. They were in public now - of course Mother and Father would behave with more dignity towards their eldest daughter. They would not want other families to suggest that they were unsupportive of Bellatrix's accomplishments.
As Andromeda had suspected, the moment that they disapparated from Platform 9 3/4, the charade was dropped.
"What are you wearing?" Druella demanded. Bellatrix glanced down at herself. "What?"
"This!" Druella pulled down the edge of Bellatrix's shirt and revealed a slip strap over her shoulder. Andromeda looked at it curiously as Bellatrix's face flamed crimson. "Mother!"
"Cygnus, would you give us a moment?" Druella said, and Cygnus stepped out immediately, taking Narcissa with him. Druella did not notice Andromeda still watching, though Bellatrix cast her younger sister a desperate glance.
Druella was quickly popping the buttons of Bellatrix's school shirt undone, despite Bellatrix trying to slap her hands away. "Mother, stop it!"
After only a few moments, Druella finished with the buttons and yanked the shirt off of Bellatrix, whose face turned crimson. She quickly crossed her arms over her chest, dropping her head so her hair shielded her face.
"This!" Druella pointed at Bellatrix's chest. "What is this?"
Bellatrix crossed her arms still more tightly. "Stop it, mother."
"Nonsense! Uncross your arms and stand up straight - you are a Black!"
Bellatrix's lip trembled and she dropped her arms, digging her fingers into the fabric of her skirt as she lifted her head to look Druella dead in the eye.
On her upper body, she was wearing a peculiar sort of garment. Andromeda had never seen anything quite like it. It was something like a white shirt, but it only went to just below the swell of Bellatrix's breasts, and cupped them tightly. Andromeda found herself staring against her will at the soft bumps. It felt as though it had been a long time before she had seen any girl's breasts but her own, and she was rather eager to compare how much she had grown in comparison to Bellatrix's.
Druella plucked at the fabric of the garment on Bellatrix's upper body. "I ask again, Bellatrix, what is this?"
"It's just a bra, mother," Bellatrix mumbled, twisting her skirt between her fingers.
"Exactly! Why in the name of heaven are you wearing this... this disgusting thing? Good Pureblood girls do not wear these! We have corsets for a reason, Bellatrix - where is your corset, answer me that!"
"I- it was-" Bellatrix's cheeks were scarlet. "I did not want to wear it at school. None of the other girls wore them!"
"That is because the other girls are common! You are a Black and you ought to dress accordingly! Do you want people going around saying what a slut you are?"
"A what?" Bellatrix's mouth flew open and her eyes filled up with tears. "Mother!"
Andromeda wished she could do something to help. She didn't know what a slut was, but judging by Bellatrix's reaction, it was a very, very bad thing. She clenched her fists in her skirt, bit her lip hard, mentally praying that her mother would let the girls go up to their room and that she, Andromeda, wouldn't have to keep watching this.
"You heard me!" Druella fumed. "You are a Black, you should learn better than to behave like such a slut! And your age is irrelevant, you should know! It doesn't matter if you're only eleven years old, your reputation is still important!"
"Fine, then!" shouted Bellatrix, apparently losing all control. She stamped her foot hard, then grabbed the piece of fabric covering her breasts and ripped it off, throwing it to the ground. "Fine! I won't wear it anymore! All right? Will that make you happy with me for ten bloody minutes?"
Andromeda swallowed hard, trying not to look at Bellatrix's bare breasts. She dropped her eyes to the floor, biting her lip.
"Don't you dare speak to your mother that way!"
"Why?" Bellatrix screamed. "You can speak to me any way you like!"
"I am your mother! For the love of mercy, Bellatrix, cover yourself!"
"I won't!" shouted Bellatrix, face flushed crimson with anger. "You can't make me! I don't want to! And I wish you weren't my mother!"
With that, Bellatrix whirled and picked up her skirts, dashing out. Druella was left dumbfounded, staring after her with fury painted all over her face. "Why- why, that- thatgirl!" she fumed, quite incoherently. "She's going all wrong!" Then Druella stormed out as well, leaving Andromeda alone.
)O(
After the girls had been sent to bed that night, and Andromeda was quite sure that Cygnus and Druella would not be returning to check on them, she crawled out of her ed and under Bellatrix's blankets. Bellatrix was lying on her stomach, her face buried in her pillow, perfectly still.
"Bella?"
Andromeda heard Bellatrix sniff heartily into the pillow, then she slowly lifted her head. The soft white silk pillowcase was tearstained.
"What?" she snapped, her mouth twisted into an almost exaggerated frown. Andromeda recoiled. Bellatrix's anger was a dangerous thing, and while she, Andromeda, had never yet been on the receiving end of one of Bella's fits of temper, she didn't want that to change.
"I'm s- s- sorry," she stammered. She crawled backwards, trying to make an escape, get back to her bed before her sister's wrath turned on her. "I didn't mean to- to bother you…"
"Oh for…" Bellatrix sat up, hastily dashing tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Andi… I didn't mean…" She bit her lip and shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I was just… I've missed you, Andi."
Andromeda felt her cheeks growing warm and thanked heaven that the bedroom they shared was lit only by the white moonlight streaming in from the window, which bleached everything of its colour. With any luck at all, Bellatrix would not see the blush of pride and pleasure rising in Andromeda's cheeks.
Bellatrix missed me.
"Here." Bellatrix held out her arms and Andromeda crawled into them, happy to feel the warmth of her older sister's embrace for the first time in what seemed like forever. She laid her head on the soft, slightly worn white silk of Bellatrix's nightdress, rubbing her cheek against it with a happy smile. Bellatrix petted her hair the same way she might have done to a cat.
"It's been horrible here without you," Andromeda confided quietly to her sister. It was wonderful to be able to say what she felt again - Narcissa wouldn't have understood if Andromeda had tried to talk to her, Cygnus and Druella would have seen the sentiment as ample cause for punishment, and Andromeda had no friends outside of the family.
"I wish you could come to Hogwarts with me," Bellatrix said. "I can't wait until you're eleven… you're going to love it there."
Andromeda sighed wistfully. "What's it like?"
Bellatrix lay back on her pillows with a slight, happy smile on her lips. Her long black curls - grown three or four inches longer than Andromeda's in the time since September - fanned out beautifully around her head like a black halo. She toyed idly with one of the black silk ribbons that decorated the neck of her nightdress.
"It's amazing," she said, her voice softer and dreamier than Andromeda had ever heard it. "You can't even imagine…"
"Of course I can imagine! Tell me!" Andromeda demanded. She was desperate for escape - even if it was only imaginary escape - from the dreary repetition of life at Black Manor.
Bellatrix bit her lip. "I don't know if I can explain…"
"Of course you can! Try! Please, Bella, just try to explain what it's like!"
There was a pause, then Bellatrix said, "You can do anything you like there. No one cares about propriety, not even a little bit. I mean, there are rules but… but they're different." She rolled over and propped her head up on her hand to look her sister in the eye. "The rules are things like not using magic in the corridors between classes, or not hexing people… but… but we can dance down the halls or laugh out loud or hug each other and no one stops us. No one would even want to. Can you even imagine that, Andi?"
Andromeda shook her head, eyes wide and astonished. How… strange… she thought. How strange it must be to be able to behave freely and openly with everyone…
"And," Bellatrix added, "we don't have to wear corsets."
"What was that thing you were wearing earlier? The one Mother got all upset over…"
"Oh, that." To Andromeda's surprise, Bellatrix giggled a little. "It's a bra… it's like… well, it does the same thing as a corset, it makes your figure nicer, but it only covers your breasts, and it does it without crushing your ribs in."
"Why wouldn't Mother want you to wear it, then?"
Bellatrix shrugged one shoulder. "Because Blacks are supposed to have crushed ribs, I suppose," she said quite scornfully. "I don't know… but let me tell you, Andi," she added, grinning, "once your breasts start really growing, you're going to want one instead of a corset. It's a lot more comfortable."
"My breasts are growing!"
Bellatrix giggled a little at Andromeda's affronted expression. "Sure they are…"
"They are!"
"Well, I can't tell under that corset, you know," Bellatrix told her. "You could still be as flat as when I saw you last."
Andromeda's cheeks went pink and she pulled of her nightgown, yanking at the strings of the corset that she was now required to wear even to bed. Bellatrix watched with raised eyebrows as Andromeda struggled until the corset was off.
"Hm," Bellatrix said softly. "I suppose they are growing after all…"
Andromeda blushed even deeper. "I told you so."
"Yes, you did…"
The way Bellatrix was looking at Andromeda made her squirm, and she pulled her nightdress back on, though she left her corset off. She settled next to Bellatrix, curling against her as Bellatrix pulled the silk covers over the two of them.
"Bella?" Andromeda asked quietly.
"Mm hmm?"
"What's a…" Andromeda struggled to remember what it was that their mother had said. "What's a slut?"
Bellatrix stiffened. There was a long, painful silence before she answered.
"It's a girl who acts wrong," she said at last.
"Oh…" Andromeda pondered. "Like us? Like how we act wrong by sleeping together in the same bed?"
"Yes, exactly."
"Are we sluts, then?"
There was a pause, then Bellatrix burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"N- nothing," Bellatrix said through fits of giggles.
"Then answer. Am I a slut?"
Bellatrix stopped laughing, and she looked at Andromeda, her face going surprisingly serious.
"Maybe… when you're older."
Chapter 6 at Fanfiction.net