Making the Right Choice
Title: Making the Right Choice, Part One
Characters: Andromeda Tonks, Ted Tonks, Bellatrix LeStrange, Narcissa Malfoy, Sirius Black, Regulus Black
Pairings: Andromeda/Ted, implied Andromeda/Lucius
Word Count: 1297
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Andromeda Black is starting her seventh year at Hogwarts. She’s becoming closer to Ted Tonks but their relationship has to be a secret. Soon she will have to make the choice between what is right and what is easy. What does she decide?
AN: In my story Andromeda is seventh year, Narcissa fifth year, Sirius second year and Regulus first year. Bellatrix has just finished her seventh year. Slightly messed up the timeline to fit it all in. It says in the books that Snape was at school with Bellatrix, along with the Marauders but JKR also says she was born around 1951 so they couldn’t have been. It’s hard to stick to the timeline and everything but I’ve tried my best, except I’ve made Bellatrix a year younger, in the story because of plot things. So instead of starting Hogwarts in 1963 she started in 1964. This is around the second year that Voldemort has been around, the war had been raging for eleven years before Lily and James died so it would have been just before they started Hogwarts.
Andromeda Black made her way to the end of the train where she knew her younger sister, Narcissa, would be sitting with a group of Slytherins in the last compartment. She didn’t really enjoy the company of many of the Slytherins but they were members of her house and she’d frequently see them at various events during the holidays and as a result of that, grown used to the company and learnt to deal with it. Andromeda valued brains and intelligence, unfortunately many of those she spent time with lacked that.
It was the start of her last year at Hogwarts and also the first year that she had attended without her older sister, Bellatrix, by her side. It felt a little weird, she’d no longer be there. Andromeda wasn’t a coward but it had always been reassuring that she had Bellatrix with her whatever happened, always ready to stick up for her sister and hex anyone who tried to hurt her. The three Black sisters were very close, and always had been. Nothing could stop that.
Starting back at Hogwarts was a relief, the summer hadn’t gone so well and Andromeda needed some time to herself to think over the events that had happened. Bellatrix had come home one night and proudly showed off a mark burned into her arm, a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. Personally, she thought it looked disgusting. Who would want to mar their skin with something that looked so horrible? Bellatrix had explained all about this Dark Lord and all his ideas about killing the Muggles and Muggle-borns and how his trusted followers would receive his Dark Mark so he could call them.
It made her feel slightly ill, and even though she had been brought up to hate them, she didn’t want them to all be killed. It was right there that she decided to never take the Dark Mark, even if she was killed for it. She was left with a bit of a problem, Bellatrix was now a Death Eater, one of the followers who killed for pleasure and used the Unforgivable Curses regularly but she was still her sister and no matter what she did she would always be close to her. Anyway where was the evidence that this Dark Lord would actually stick around, for all she knew he could be gone and defeated in a few months and shoved in Azkaban.
The thing that was most strange to Andromeda was that she never thought Bellatrix would take orders from anyone. She was a leader, not a follower, and was constantly telling people what to do and ordering them about. Using threats to get what she wanted.
She was brought back to reality by her friend asking her how her summer had been.
“It was okay, I guess. I attended a lot of balls and other social events, the usual.”
The Black family was one of the oldest, and richest, Pureblood families left in the wizarding world and because of this Andromeda was expected to turn up to these events along with the rest of her family. She hated going to these events as she got bored very quickly. She didn’t care much for politics and so spent most of her evenings sitting in the corner watching everyone else interact. She hated having to wear those awful dresses that her mother insisted she wear, they didn’t suit her and made her uncomfortable. Andromeda was rather plain compared to her sisters, she wasn’t as beautiful as Narcissa and not as striking as Bellatrix.
“You’re so lucky. I’d do anything to be able to attend a ball but my parents don’t like them. Especially now, they don’t want to end up in Azkaban. It’s too dangerous now with everything that’s starting to go on.”
“You are welcome to take my place, I hate them.” Andromeda replied. “So have you heard who the new Head Boy and Head Girl are yet?”
Andromeda tried to change the subject. She loved her friend dearly but sometimes she was just too stupid for her own good. She needed to learn when to keep her mouth shut. There was a time and a place for discussing things like that and now wasn’t the time or the place. If she were to keep on about how her parents don’t want anything to do with the Dark Lord and someone took this information back to him, her parents would be killed on the spot. They were in a crowded compartment full of people that could be servants of the Dark Lord. First rule of being a Slytherin - trust no one.
“Some Ravenclaw boy and a Gryffindor girl.” She shrugged as she pulled a nasty face when the word ‘Gryffindor’ was mentioned.
“Typical.” Andromeda rolled her eyes. “It’s always a Gryffindor that gets either Head Boy or Head Girl, sometimes even both.”
In her opinion there was only one decent Gryffindor and that was her younger cousin, Sirius, who would be starting his second year.
Andromeda pulled out a book from her bag and began to read. The conversation in the compartment didn’t really interest her, Muggle torture wasn’t her idea of a good time. Sometimes she wondered why she wasn’t put in Ravenclaw, she loved to learn and received top grades in nearly all her subjects.
* * *
It was dark when the train pulled into Hogsmeade station and Andromeda climbed into a horseless carriage which would take her up to the castle.
She’d always loved the Great Hall with the enchanted ceiling which reflected the sky outside. Tonight the sky was clear and you could see the stars glittering against the navy sky. Astronomy was one of her favourite lessons and she could easily point out the different constellations. She sat down by her friend at the Slytherin table and watched as McGonagall led the first years in so they could be sorted. She spotted her cousin, Regulus, in the line and waved at him. He looked terrified and she didn’t blame him, waiting to be sorted was frightening as well as exciting.
Regulus was one of the first to be sorted. The hat seemed to be taking its time with him, and just as Andromeda had begun to wonder what was happening the hat shouted out “SLYTHERIN!” and he ran over to the table as everyone clapped.
“Andi I made it!” he grinned, nervously.
Andromeda stopped herself from correcting him. Her name was Andromeda, she didn’t want anyone to shorten it, she was given a name and she wanted people to say it correctly.
“Congratulations!”
She had noticed across the hall that Sirius didn’t look happy but she’d deal with him later, it was more important to get Regulus settled into life at Hogwarts. Sirius would have to get over it, not everyone that got sorted into Slytherin was bad, he’d even said that she was his favourite cousin. Regulus wasn’t like Sirius, he wasn’t strong and wouldn’t be able to deal with a Howler from his mother. Aunt Walburga could be very nasty when she wanted to be, and no one wanted to get one from her. Sirius hadn’t been very happy when he received his upon becoming a Gryffindor, even though he pretended to laugh and joke about it.
Regulus being in Slytherin was another weight off her shoulders, she had been worried that Bellatrix would want nothing to do with him if he had been sorted anywhere else, just like she had pushed Sirius aside. Regulus worshipped Bellatrix and it would crush him if she turned on him. Although maybe it wasn’t such a good thing for him to look up to Bellatrix, he might follow her into danger and Andromeda didn’t want that.
Characters: Andromeda Tonks, Ted Tonks, Bellatrix LeStrange, Narcissa Malfoy, Sirius Black, Regulus Black
Pairings: Andromeda/Ted, implied Andromeda/Lucius
Word Count: 1297
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Andromeda Black is starting her seventh year at Hogwarts. She’s becoming closer to Ted Tonks but their relationship has to be a secret. Soon she will have to make the choice between what is right and what is easy. What does she decide?
AN: In my story Andromeda is seventh year, Narcissa fifth year, Sirius second year and Regulus first year. Bellatrix has just finished her seventh year. Slightly messed up the timeline to fit it all in. It says in the books that Snape was at school with Bellatrix, along with the Marauders but JKR also says she was born around 1951 so they couldn’t have been. It’s hard to stick to the timeline and everything but I’ve tried my best, except I’ve made Bellatrix a year younger, in the story because of plot things. So instead of starting Hogwarts in 1963 she started in 1964. This is around the second year that Voldemort has been around, the war had been raging for eleven years before Lily and James died so it would have been just before they started Hogwarts.
Andromeda Black made her way to the end of the train where she knew her younger sister, Narcissa, would be sitting with a group of Slytherins in the last compartment. She didn’t really enjoy the company of many of the Slytherins but they were members of her house and she’d frequently see them at various events during the holidays and as a result of that, grown used to the company and learnt to deal with it. Andromeda valued brains and intelligence, unfortunately many of those she spent time with lacked that.
It was the start of her last year at Hogwarts and also the first year that she had attended without her older sister, Bellatrix, by her side. It felt a little weird, she’d no longer be there. Andromeda wasn’t a coward but it had always been reassuring that she had Bellatrix with her whatever happened, always ready to stick up for her sister and hex anyone who tried to hurt her. The three Black sisters were very close, and always had been. Nothing could stop that.
Starting back at Hogwarts was a relief, the summer hadn’t gone so well and Andromeda needed some time to herself to think over the events that had happened. Bellatrix had come home one night and proudly showed off a mark burned into her arm, a skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. Personally, she thought it looked disgusting. Who would want to mar their skin with something that looked so horrible? Bellatrix had explained all about this Dark Lord and all his ideas about killing the Muggles and Muggle-borns and how his trusted followers would receive his Dark Mark so he could call them.
It made her feel slightly ill, and even though she had been brought up to hate them, she didn’t want them to all be killed. It was right there that she decided to never take the Dark Mark, even if she was killed for it. She was left with a bit of a problem, Bellatrix was now a Death Eater, one of the followers who killed for pleasure and used the Unforgivable Curses regularly but she was still her sister and no matter what she did she would always be close to her. Anyway where was the evidence that this Dark Lord would actually stick around, for all she knew he could be gone and defeated in a few months and shoved in Azkaban.
The thing that was most strange to Andromeda was that she never thought Bellatrix would take orders from anyone. She was a leader, not a follower, and was constantly telling people what to do and ordering them about. Using threats to get what she wanted.
She was brought back to reality by her friend asking her how her summer had been.
“It was okay, I guess. I attended a lot of balls and other social events, the usual.”
The Black family was one of the oldest, and richest, Pureblood families left in the wizarding world and because of this Andromeda was expected to turn up to these events along with the rest of her family. She hated going to these events as she got bored very quickly. She didn’t care much for politics and so spent most of her evenings sitting in the corner watching everyone else interact. She hated having to wear those awful dresses that her mother insisted she wear, they didn’t suit her and made her uncomfortable. Andromeda was rather plain compared to her sisters, she wasn’t as beautiful as Narcissa and not as striking as Bellatrix.
“You’re so lucky. I’d do anything to be able to attend a ball but my parents don’t like them. Especially now, they don’t want to end up in Azkaban. It’s too dangerous now with everything that’s starting to go on.”
“You are welcome to take my place, I hate them.” Andromeda replied. “So have you heard who the new Head Boy and Head Girl are yet?”
Andromeda tried to change the subject. She loved her friend dearly but sometimes she was just too stupid for her own good. She needed to learn when to keep her mouth shut. There was a time and a place for discussing things like that and now wasn’t the time or the place. If she were to keep on about how her parents don’t want anything to do with the Dark Lord and someone took this information back to him, her parents would be killed on the spot. They were in a crowded compartment full of people that could be servants of the Dark Lord. First rule of being a Slytherin - trust no one.
“Some Ravenclaw boy and a Gryffindor girl.” She shrugged as she pulled a nasty face when the word ‘Gryffindor’ was mentioned.
“Typical.” Andromeda rolled her eyes. “It’s always a Gryffindor that gets either Head Boy or Head Girl, sometimes even both.”
In her opinion there was only one decent Gryffindor and that was her younger cousin, Sirius, who would be starting his second year.
Andromeda pulled out a book from her bag and began to read. The conversation in the compartment didn’t really interest her, Muggle torture wasn’t her idea of a good time. Sometimes she wondered why she wasn’t put in Ravenclaw, she loved to learn and received top grades in nearly all her subjects.
* * *
It was dark when the train pulled into Hogsmeade station and Andromeda climbed into a horseless carriage which would take her up to the castle.
She’d always loved the Great Hall with the enchanted ceiling which reflected the sky outside. Tonight the sky was clear and you could see the stars glittering against the navy sky. Astronomy was one of her favourite lessons and she could easily point out the different constellations. She sat down by her friend at the Slytherin table and watched as McGonagall led the first years in so they could be sorted. She spotted her cousin, Regulus, in the line and waved at him. He looked terrified and she didn’t blame him, waiting to be sorted was frightening as well as exciting.
Regulus was one of the first to be sorted. The hat seemed to be taking its time with him, and just as Andromeda had begun to wonder what was happening the hat shouted out “SLYTHERIN!” and he ran over to the table as everyone clapped.
“Andi I made it!” he grinned, nervously.
Andromeda stopped herself from correcting him. Her name was Andromeda, she didn’t want anyone to shorten it, she was given a name and she wanted people to say it correctly.
“Congratulations!”
She had noticed across the hall that Sirius didn’t look happy but she’d deal with him later, it was more important to get Regulus settled into life at Hogwarts. Sirius would have to get over it, not everyone that got sorted into Slytherin was bad, he’d even said that she was his favourite cousin. Regulus wasn’t like Sirius, he wasn’t strong and wouldn’t be able to deal with a Howler from his mother. Aunt Walburga could be very nasty when she wanted to be, and no one wanted to get one from her. Sirius hadn’t been very happy when he received his upon becoming a Gryffindor, even though he pretended to laugh and joke about it.
Regulus being in Slytherin was another weight off her shoulders, she had been worried that Bellatrix would want nothing to do with him if he had been sorted anywhere else, just like she had pushed Sirius aside. Regulus worshipped Bellatrix and it would crush him if she turned on him. Although maybe it wasn’t such a good thing for him to look up to Bellatrix, he might follow her into danger and Andromeda didn’t want that.