People didn’t know what it felt like to be comforted by monsters. None of them saw the horrors behind the veil, being told someone was something, and seeing them for something totally different. Andromeda was not immune to the whispers, hearing them of her, of her sister—and specifically of Alecto and Bellatrix. Of which, the two women were bustling, suggestive tones laid against their names. It should’ve scared Andromeda. Secrets had kept her warm at night, kept her safe, even if there were ones saved from her sisters. But as Andromeda looked to her oldest sister, she didn’t see the rumors that plagued the school. She saw Bella. The girl who shielded her from the horrors of night, when monsters crept into her mind. It was Bella at her side, shaking her awake, reassuring her that the night was their friend, and she had nothing to fear. She had nothing to fear because Bella would be there to stop it.
How many could say they would ever understand that stake? That Bellatrix Black was all things, and more. An enigma. To Andromeda, she was her sister. That fear swept away, that worries could be washed aside, because Bella would make it right. There were many reasons that Andromeda fell onto the Black name, but to fall back, knowing that Bella would catch her, hold her, and shield her from all the things that terrified her to her core, that meant more than anything. It was why she stayed. It was why she didn’t run when Sirius had, it was why she was content to being miserable, to keep Bellatrix and Narcissa close, content and happy. The quip had a small laugh echoing her sister, as she held her hand over her lips for the moment, shielding the smile that grew to the comparison. But it fell. If Bellatrix was uneasy about the situation, Andromeda felt the pit of her stomach sink.
But I’ll assure you now, more than ever, that if anyone were the lay a hand on you –– a finger –– they’ll be at the end of my wand. Do you understand me? Andromeda nodded her head slowly. It wasn’t a second doubt in her mind, but the paralyzed fear lingered like a bad itch she couldn’t scratch. That she wondered if someone would’ve tried to do something. That she should tell the likes of her fiancée, of others in the tower, if they tried—they would feel the wrath of Bella. There was something satisfying in that notion, something that twisted even the corners of her lips. In such a world where she didn’t see eye-to-eye, where she kept pieces of her heart hidden, she could rely on the wholesome truth that Bella would keep her safe. For a second, only briefly, it ebbed away at the fluttering nausea that always sat in her stomach.
The ideal to not worry, care for Bella’s wellbeing was something Andromeda shook her head too. “You can’t ask me to do that.” She whispered. “No matter what you want, I’ll always be concerned for you and Alecto. I’ll always watch after Cissy, but—Bella,” She whispered her sister’s name. “There’s a war waging outside of the castle, do you not fear someone will hurt you for bearing the Black name?” No. That much Andromeda knew. But as she had already come to guess, question—and be petrified of who bore the mark that haunted her nightmares and who did not, she was hoping, desperate, Bellatrix was not one of them. It was a childish notion, but one Andromeda held onto then.
Alecto and I, cut from the same cloth of sorts. Some days it seems as though she’d join me in the execution of Rodolphus if he were to ever do a thing to you. “It would’ve helped if both of you spoke up to refute the marriage then.” She interjected in a sour tone. That she’d have freedom to choose, instead of the natural impending marriage that hung over her head. She’d barely be fresh out of school when she’d be signing her name. “Honestly, how come I have to give up my name, I’m a Black. If I’m to change it, it should be of my own free will!” And that was why she was sour to the engagement, all of it taken out freely on Rodolphus, like he’d stolen the very thing she identified so ironically by. She was a Black. “Can’t you change their minds,” She shifted in her seat, a hopeful look rising to her expression. “Father would listen to you about it if it came from you.” He certainly didn’t listen to Andromeda the day the Lestranges’ departed Black Manor. “You could lie and express your disdain for the match and I’d be out, and—and I could just—“ Well, she hadn’t thought it completely through, a crestfallen look passing over.
“No one’s filling my head, but the Prophet’s been reporting more missing people, and I’m waiting for the day someone crops up in bits, and then we’ve got to start burying people, and—and—“ She sighed. “I don’t like uncertainty, and I don’t like the risk that comes with this, and I don’t like the mere idea of you or Cissa in harm’s way, while I’m off playing housewife to Rodolphus of all people!” She sat back in a huff, arms crossed. She stared onto the fire, flickers of embers within the honey-hued orbs as she softed, she would always to her sister. Her voice dropped to a whisper, as her hand reached out, grasping Bella’s and squeezing slightly, more so cautionary and needed for Andromeda than it might’ve been for Bella. “How can you be so sure we’re all going to be okay, Bella?”
When looking upon Andromeda, Bellatrix had merely seen a mirror. An image of a softer version of herself, hair slightly less darkened, gaze less clouded by the evils of the world. It was something she’d found a comfort, that even though Bellatrix had managed to take on the harshened opinions of the men she’d chosen to surround herself with, that Andromeda would never be plagued with such a thing. If Bellatrix had it her way, Andromeda and Narcissa would never be branded. She’d no problem with the Dark Mark being etched into her skin, burned so deeply into flesh that she’d felt it reach her bone. However, her sisters, her sisters were the last bit of shining purity in which she’d had hope for. They were innocent, kind and naive girls who’d needed protection. If that had meant that Bellatrix was to be made a monster, then a monster she’d become. If only to keep them from straying, if only to keep them from leaving.
She’d shackle them down, keep them hostage in a home filled with monsters to lurk, to contain, if it meant they’d savour themselves from the traitorous ideals that Sirius had allowed to leak into his mind. To her, they were bound by blood. They were something more than sisters, something closer. Soul mates had never felt like enough, it could never convey the feeling in which Bellatrix held for her sisters. As if they were one being, the best and worst of one another entirely. Her eyes snap at the assumption that she’d be touched for bearing such a name, that she would allow someone the power to harm her. The Black house was noble, respected, she’d be damned if she let others forget that. “Do you believe someone capable of harming me, Andromeda?” It’s asked with a curious brow furrowing, as if she expects her sister to doubt her own thoughts. She’d liked to believe herself untouchable, and even so, Dolohov and the Dark Lord had taught her spells that would perhaps even make their ancestors turn within their graves. “If you do, then how is it that you’re so sure I’ll be able to protect you? Do you doubt my power, my ability?” Anger itches beneath her skin, settling into her bloodstream.
She’d narrowly escaped the notion of marriage, the suggestion coming from her parents had been dismissed in mere moments. Their eldest daughter too headstrong, too reckless and spontaneous to be tamed by any marriage, by any man. Bellatrix was a hurricane, wrecking havoc and leaving destruction so deeply rooted that entire cities had to rebuild. There’d been no hope in her bringing anything else than honour to the Black family name through her actions, not through the reliance of a man, allowing their name to die out. She’d had everything she could’ve wanted in the shape of a man so wrapped around her fingers, so disgustingly crass and cruel that they’d understood one another in the dark. Antonin Dolohov was a man of great reputation, and he’d gone unmarried because he was a monster like her, a man whose only loyalty was to the Dark Lord himself. He’d branded her as much as the Dark Lord had, and Bellatrix had remained satisfied. The disappointment lingering between the two girls as Andromeda quips towards her. “Would you rather have had Narcissa be married into that family? As an older sister it’s your job Andromeda –– she wouldn’t have been able to handle it, and Lucius, as daft and cowardly as he is, is much better suited for her.” She speaks through gritted teeth, unable to elaborate on exactly how she’d managed to avoid a marriage. “Why are you so hesitant –– “ She questions, wondering if it’s Rodolphus whose name should appear on her list next. “I can speak to father over the break and attempt to reason with him, but don’t allow me to speak for you.” It’s a nod of approval, damning herself for upsetting her sister and leaving her in such a position. “But, if you’re free of one disgraceful man, then surely they’d sell your soul to another.” The painful truth. That one day her sisters would not be her sisters, but women who’d belonged to men. She’d pitied them for it, that they were so unlike her, that they’d never quite fought hard enough against their parents wishes.
“Don’t you realize that it’s exactly that that will keep you safe?” Agitation rises within her core, and she cannot help but shake her head. If she’d had to burn down the entire castle to allow Narcissa and Andromeda safe passage through the coming times, she would. There was little in which Bellatrix wouldn’t sacrifice for them, few she wouldn’t kill. However frustrated she’d become, not only due to Andromeda but the happenings as of late around them, she’d allowed herself to soften slightly as she hears the desperation within her voice. “Because I would sooner die than watch your demise, Andromeda. Because we’ve friends in this castle that remain loyal to our family, to the upcoming war that will surely come. Because I’m not going to sit idly by and allow anyone to threaten or harm the pair of you.” Voice churning, allowing sense of jest to follow her words as she speaks next. “No matter how much you doubt me and my abilities, I could harm the lot of them –– you realize this yes? That it’s not them you should fear, for they’re afraid of me.” Something she’d relished in. She’d be daft if she hadn’t known her sister to know of the rumours that swirled around her, that she’d been immune to them entirely. Bellatrix knew her reputation throughout the castle, and she needn’t be ashamed, reassuring Andromeda of the same. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for you, for Narcissa. No one I wouldn’t harm if they were to ever threaten to tear you away from me, do you understand?”