Harry Potter Fanfiction: Of Purebloods and Parties
“I can’t believe you chose white, Cissa. White is such a babyish color!” Bellatrix Black snarled at her youngest sister. Narcissa, who had been admiring her own reflection the mirror just moments before, gave her sister a snooty look, turning up her dainty nose. But when she turned back to the mirror, the excitement had gone from her eyes and she smoothed the dress self-consciously. Bella stood in the center of the room on a stool. House elves danced about her, carefully hemming and pinning her revealing midnight-blue gown. Occasionally they pricked themselves with needles, but they didn’t mind; better to prick your own finger than to prick the ankle of Mistress Bella.
“Well, Cissa, I think you look lovely.” Andromeda, dressed in a yellow tiered dress, wrapped her arms around her little sister’s neck and planted a kiss on the girl’s pale cheek. Over Cissa’s head, Andromeda shot Bella a nasty look, but said nothing. Why should she? Andromeda and Bella were hardly on speaking terms.
Cissa wriggled out of Andromeda’s hug, and stood in front of the mirror again. “Do you think Mother would dye my dress green if I asked her to?” Andromeda turned away from the scene unfolding in front of her, a little hurt that her little sister had shaken off her praise. Andromeda had hoped that she and Cissa might become close; Narcissa was not as cold as Bella was. But now that Cissa was on the precipice of adolescence, Andromeda felt that she was fighting a losing battle.
Bella was rifling through their mother’s jewelry box. From its depths, she extracted a heavy-looking necklace of opals and rubies and matching earrings. “What would you like, Andromeda?” Bella enquired lugubriously, addressing the middle Black sister for the first time in weeks. Cissa peered around Bella’s skirts, stoking a small pearl broach with loving fingers. The eldest sister slapped her hand away. “Stop that, Cissa! You’re much too young for jewelry. Cissa hardened her expression and replied, “Fine. I don’t care at all,” but Andromeda saw that the small girl was blinking away hurt tears.
Andromeda reached forward and plucked the large black bow from her little sister’s hair. The blonde waves fell around her shoulders. “Andromeda,” Cissa whined, “What did you do that for?”
Andromeda smiled mischievously. “Just watch.” She retied the ribbon in a jaunty bow around one shoulder of her little sister’s dress. “There!” She stood back and admired the effect. “Now your dress is white and black.” Cissa rushed forward and peered at herself in the mirror before murmuring a sound of ill-concealed delight. “Thank you, Andy,” she whispered. Andromeda was surprised to hear her sister call her “Andy”; it was a nickname that hadn’t been used since Cissa was eight, but it pleased her all the same. Andromeda returned to Bella’s side with a smile and removed a simple pair of diamond earring shaped like flowers from the jewelry box. Bella raised a carefully plucked brow.
The girls were swept into the ballroom that night by their father, their mother, Druella, trailing languidly behind.
“Mother?” Cissa reached for her mother’s bony hand, but Druella wrenched her fingers out of her daughter’s grasp. She swayed violently on the spot. Cissa stood stunned and even Cygnus, the girls’ father, stopped to glance back over his shoulder.
Andromeda took her mother’s elbow, feeling Druella’s sharp bones dig into her side and she helped her along. Druella stumbled forward, nearly tripping on the hem of her shimmering emerald dress, but she somehow managed to make it to the table where the host and hostess stood, greeting their guest. At this point, Druella stood up straight, smoothed her blonde curls and pasted on an extremely brittle smile.
“Mr. and Mrs. Prewett, may I present my daughters, Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa.” As each girl heard her name, she stepped forward and curtsied. Narcissa, who was trembling like a leaf with nerves, fumbled a little bit coming out of the bow. As she stepped back, Cygnus grasped her delicate shoulder in one of his large hands and gave it a very hard squeeze. Narcissa managed to suppress a squeak by pressing her lips tightly together, and the Prewets looked on approvingly. Andromeda felt rather sick. She and Bellatrix each stepped forward and bowed, before their parents were beckoned aside by Enjloras and Fantine Malfoy and the girls were allowed to disappear into the vast splendor of the ballroom.
Bellatrix spotted a group of children on the outskirts of the dancefloor, young Lucius Malfoy’s shining blond head visible in the center of the cluster. “Run along, Cissa, and play with Lucius and his friends.
Narcissa looked up and Belltrix with wide eyes. “Oh, Bella, don’t make me!” She pleaded. “Lucius pinches me and his friends Regulus and Grantaire are simply awful.”
Bellatrix ignored her sister’s protests. “Do my bidding, you odious child,” she snarled. With a little shove, she pointed her little sister in the direction of the other children, and Narcissa stumbled off anxiously. Andromeda watched Narcissa go before turning to Bellatrix, her feelings of anger towards her older sister overwhelming her feelings of intense pity for the small girl. “What in the world did you do that for? You know Lucius bullies Cissa! He’s a dreadful boy.”
“I care not whether the children Cissa fraternizes with are, as you say, “dreadful”, or not,” Bellatrix sneered. “All that matters is that they are pure of blood.”
Andromeda felt the heat rising to her face. “I don’t think that’s-“
“Of course it’s true!” Bellatrix growled. “And at any rate, Narcissa will be spending a lot more time with Lucius in the future.”
“What do you mean?”
Bellatrix rolled her eyes. “Our parents clearly never tell you anything. Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy are going to be married.”
“What?” Andromeda felt the color that had flown to her face draining from it. “But she’s only eleven years old.”
“Yes,” Bellatrix agreed, “She is eleven. The same age I was when I was engaged to Rodolphus.” She gestured to a tall, dark young man whose black eyes had a rather lecherous look to them when they fell upon Bellatrix. “Narcissa won’t actually be married, of course, until she comes of age.”
Andromeda knitted her brows. “But...I’m sixteen, and I’m not engaged to anyone.”
Bellatrix’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Of course. That’s because Mother and Father haven’t been able to betroth you to anyone.” She bent down and hissed in her sister’s ear, “Nobody wants you.”
Andromeda raced from the grand ballroom, through the foyer and out into the cobblestone street. Bellatrix’s manic laughter rang in her ears, and she thought she might throw up. Andromeda sat down on the front steps of the manor, dizzy and disoriented. The other vast London mansions that lined the street loomed over her. Their brightly lit windows glared down at her like the many eyes of her fellow purebloods.
Andromeda buried her face in her hands. She was used to her sister’s sly jabs, but this one had hit a little to close to home. It’s true, it’s true, a voice Andromeda’s head wailed. Andromeda stood slowly. She knew that she had to get out this place before her father realized she was missing. Unconsciously, she ran a hand over her back, feeling the bruises that had marred it almost constantly since she was twelve years old. Andromeda weighed her options: she could apparate, but in this emotional state, she had a higher risk of splinching herself; or she could run. Yes, running sounded good right now.
Andromeda pried off her dainty yellow slipper and scooped up her many skirts before taking off. The cobblestones were cold on her slim feet, and the wind tore at her silky brown hair and made her eyes tear up. Andromeda had never felt so alive! She ran without a thought, without a care, letting her feet take her where they might and ignoring the curious stares and shouts of people who passed her in the darkness. Finally, panting, Andromeda arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. She set her shoes down on the street and daintily stepped into them before pushing open the heavy wooden door and entering the dim room. Her eyes flitted about; where to sit? Feeling adventurous, Andromeda took a deep breath and picked a stool next to the most handsome young man in the bar, a fair-haired wizard with kind eyes, who was sipping a butterbeer and laughing heartily with the barman, Tom.
“Excuse me,” she intoned softly, “One butterbeer please.” Tom brought it to her with a smile and a friendly wink before heading down the counter to serve a witch in an emerald cloak. Andromeda sipped carefully from the glass bottle, still examining the fair boy out of the corner of her eye. The amber liquid made her feel marginally braver, and so she coughed quietly to get his attention. “Hello,” Andromeda said.
The young man looked surprised but pleased. “Hello.” Andromeda returned his warm smile, feeling foolish because she did not know what else to say to him. She was not good at talking to strangers; most people she knew, she had known since birth because they were old pureblood family friends. Luckily for Andromeda, the fair-haired wizard spoke again. “The name’s Ted Tonks,” he said, extending a hand.
Andromeda took it. “I’m Andromeda Black.”
Ted raised a eyebrow. “Black? Shouldn’t you be at the Pureblood Ball tonight?”
“How do you know about the ball?”
“Oh, the Prewetts spread the word far and wide, so that the family members they’ve disowned will feel bad,” Ted explained with a laugh. A split-second later, he looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry...Are you a disowned family member? That was a stupid thing of me to say, I’m really sorry.”
Andromeda shrugged. “Don’t be: I’m not a disowned family member,” she stated demurely. “But I’m going to be, soon,” she added, a bit more boldly.
“I’m sorry to hear it.”
“I don’t care.” She squared her shoulders. “In fact, I am glad of it.” Andromeda had never admitted that to anyone, even herself...but now she knew that it was true. The words continued to pour from her lips like a gushing river. “I will miss my little sister, Narcissa...She is not quite as cold as Bellatrix I think. Bellatrix is my-“
“Sister,” Ted finished. “I know. She has quite a...reputation around Hogwarts.”
“You go to Hogwarts?” Andromeda exclaimed, delighted. “I don’t think we’ve ever met! I wonder why?”
Ted smiled grimly. “I think I know why.” Andromeda raised an eyebrow. “I’m a Muggle-born, you see, and I think you tend to run with...well, a Pureblood crowd.” Andromeda blushed. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Ted said, taking her hand in his. “That’s just the way things are sometimes.”
Andromeda’s heart was thumping around madly in her chest. She couldn’t think of what else to say. Finally, Ted withdrew his hand, looking uncomfortable. Andromeda was both relieved and disappointed. “Anyway, as I was saying, Narcissa is a little kinder than Bella. I don’t think she’s as prejudiced towards mudbloods as our eldest sister.” A split second passed, during which Ted blinked. Then both of Andromeda’s hands flew to her face as the realization of what she had just uttered washed over her. “Oh, dear! I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I said that word! I don’t think Muggleborns are...I mean, that is...I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” She peeked out from between her fingers and caught sight of Ted, who, to her surprise, was laughing. Slowly, Andromeda lowered her hands and let loose a shy giggle, which turned into a full-bodied, pleasant laugh: one that hadn’t been heard in a long time. Her laughter only spurred on Ted’s, until they were both panting, filled with mirth at absolutely nothing. Andromeda caught sight of the clock over the bar. “It’s getting late. I probably should head back to the party.”
Ted nodded, trying to hide his displeasure at her departure. “Did you apparate here?”
“Oh, no, I ran.”
Ted looked incredulous. “You ran?” Andromeda nodded. “Well, that certainly can’t happen again. Do you want to do Side-Along apparition?”
“We could,” Andromeda wrinkled her nose, “But I don’t like it much. It makes me feel nauseous.”
“Well then the least I could do is walk you back. It’s really dark outside, and there are probably all sorts of shady characters in the streets this time of night.” Ted’s brows furrowed, and Andromeda hid her smile behind her hand. Her eyes lit upon her empty butterbeer bottle, and she realized that she had no money, but Ted was already paying for both their drinks.
“Thank you.” He smiled in reply and offered her his arm, which she took gladly.
What seemed like five minutes later, but was more like twenty, Ted and Andromeda arrived at the stately Prewett mansion. Andromeda cringed at the sounds of drunken laughter and children’s impatient squeals echoing from it. “Thanks for walking me here, Ted.”
He smiled his gentle, kind smile. “The pleasure was mine, Andromeda.” Reluctantly, she unhooked her arm from his and stared up at the large stone building so she wouldn’t have to see him dissapparate. Andromeda hated the thought of him leaving; that would make her doubt his very existence. She stared through one of the brightly lit windows and caught sight of her father, red-faced, clutching a glass of mulled mead as he roared with laughter at something Enjloras Malfoy was saying. Andromeda pictured her mother, attempting to put on lipstick, but having difficulty because her hands were shaking so badly. She imagined Bellatrix and Rodolphus, pawing each other in some stuffy closet or secret room. In her mind’s eye, Andromeda saw Narcissa, curled up in a corner of the ballroom on a hard brocade chair, inspecting the red and purple pinch marks covering her thin arms. She felt a hand on her bare shoulder, and spun around with a shriek.
“It’s just me,” said Ted softly.
“I thought you had gone.”
“I wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye.” He rubbed his hand up and down her upper arm. “Besides, you were shaking.” Andromeda fought tears. Ted looked at a loss for words for a moment before grinning half-heartedly. “May I have this dance?”
“What?” Andromeda squeaked, befuddled. “There’s no music.” But even as she said it, she heard the strains of a waltz drifting to them over the cries of a baby. She smiled as Ted sank into a clumsy bow. Andromeda curtsied, something she was all too good at. Ted took one of her small hands in his and gently placed a hand on her waist. He looked vaguely terrified and Andromeda didn’t try to conceal her delight. They began to dance; not one of the violent, difficult waltzes she was used to, nor one of the boring gavottes. It was more like swaying in time with the music.
Andromeda put her coiffed head on his shoulder and he leaned into her touch, his cheek slightly rough against hers. The music ended but they remained as they were, embracing each other to keep the cold night away, for just a moment longer.
The carriages arrived one by one. Andromeda pulled away reluctantly, flushed with embarrassment and pleasure. “I had better return before my father notices that I am gone.”
Ted nodded, examining his own reflection in his shiny shoes. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” An instant before she disappeared back into the foyer, Andromeda heard him call after her.
“Andromeda?”
She swiveled on the spot. “Yes?”
Ted blushed. “Will I see you again?”
Andromeda smiled a smile that lit up the night. “Yes.” For the first time in her life, Andromeda felt wanted.
A/N: Just some un-beta'd fluff...like most of my work. *Grins sheepishly* Please review.of pur