It don’t’ have a job,
Won’t pay your bills
Won’t buy you a home in Beverly Hills

Won’t fix your life in five easy steps
Ain’t the law of the land or the government
But it’s all you need

Rain and thunder lashed in the dark night. The blackness was so heavy that it was impossible to believe in a few hours, a bright sun would rise. Misty clouds drifted by, concealing a half- full moon. Cold, sharp wind howled, and tall trees bowed down to it.


“Andromeda Black, don’t you dare take one more step out of this parlour!” Druella Black stood tall, blocking the entrance of the house. Rain pounded hard on the windows, streaming down like tears against the inky blue sky.

“And why not? Mother, when have you ever cared about anything other than your reputation?” Andromeda’s voice was raising slighty, her left fist was clenched tightly at her side. Her right hand was resting against the cool black marble of the side table, shaking slightly.

“ I am your mother! And I command you to do what I say!” Druella said. A painting shook on the grey wall. Druella’s wand hand twitched, itching for the wand her daughter had Disarmed from her only minutes before.

Druella watched as her daughter’s eyes drew into slits. “Command? Really? And since I’m seventeen, that’s going to have so much effect on me, right?” Andromeda exclaimed fiercely.

“Why? Why do you want to be with that filthy Mudblood, anyways?” Druella said, her voice cracking. Her throat became dry and stiff. She looked down at her daughter, and for the first time, felt no disappointment. She only felt longing.

Longing to reach out to her, and comfort her. Longing for her to understand the practices of purebloods, and to accept it without question. To favour in it, like Bellatrix did. But Meda had never been like that. She had always been different from the others, and Druella never understood it.

It wasn’t fair to her family that there was a bad apple in it. It was just humiliating that the bad apple was her daughter. With most bad apples, you just threw them away and forgot about them. But some, you analyze and perceive, and try and trick your mind into thinking that maybe this one will do. It’s not too bad. Maybe, if you focus long enough, it’ll be pleasing to your eye.

“He is not filthy! He’s kind, and fair, and he knows how to love! When, Mother, did anyone love me? The last time you or Father came and stroked my forehead? Who was my refuge? Who gave me help?” Andromeda voice became thick with emotion.


Lightning flashed for a moment, giving Druella a full view of her eldest daughter, and of the dim parlor they were in. It was like a small glimpse of the future; easily forgotten, and hard to make sense of.

Druella stared down at her eldest, who had sunk down onto an expensive couch. She opened her mouth to scold her, but it wouldn’t do any good if she didn’t have her wand for proper punishment. Andromeda was blind, unaware of the responsibilities her family had to uphold.

“We gave you gifts, anything you ever wanted! Your bed was always made, your clothes were always folded, and you always had food on the table. Don’t you understand anything? Love is of no importance if you have stability!” Druella cried, desperate to make her daughter understand, to turn the apple cherry red.

“And then what do you do with that stability? What purpose do your days have? Without love, people are impatient. They are boastful, selfish and unkind,” said Andromeda, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper.

The apple stayed bruised.

Druella laughed a cold, cruel laugh that held no humour. “Unkind? Meda, you are not four! You need to learn that to make yourself comfortable in this world you need to make sacrifices, such as giving up unworthy qualities. Being kind and patient will get you killed!”

She placed a white hand, clad with rings, to her forehead. The emeralds sparkled under the low lighting. She felt a headache coming on, and not for the first time that night, she wished for her wand.

“Mother, you are not comfortable. Comfortable doesn’t mean having a good reputation, or a lot of money. You are not comfortable when you are married to someone you don’t even love!”

Druella physically drew back. Of course she was comfortable! Her family had a good winning position in this war, food and clothes aplenty. None of her family was associated with disgusting Mudbloods or Muggles. Not until now, anyways.

---

Mudbloods were corrupting the Wizarding World. Their magic didn’t compare to hers. Those filthy Muggles had tortured her ancestors. It made her blood boil to think that Muggles had thought themselves victorious over the most powerful race in the world. It was not right.

The thought that those Muggles birthed witches and wizards was aggravating. They were not proper magic. They didn’t deserve to have magic, and their ancestors had tortured her family.

She wasn’t trying to destroy everything. But the way the government tolerated to have false witches and wizards running around was insanity. She had to be strong and fight for the greater good. Her family would not stand or side with people who deserved so little. People who believed that love was the way to live life, to be dependent on everyone.

“Love! What is love! It is an emotion fools feel, vulnerable fools. People who are strong feel no love, they need not to be dependant on anyone but themselves. Meda, love can’t buy you a nice house, or good food, or a good reputation.” Druella’s voice had softened, her voice was that of a woman who was trying and failing to be comforting.

Druella was becoming drained and tired. She was tired of fighting with Andromeda. It was like waiting for rain in the desert. Most nights when they fought, Druella finally ordered her daughter not to make another sound, and go right to bed.

But tonight, Druella thought that this would be the last. And thinking that tonight may be the last time she would ever see Andromeda again formed a small lump in her throat. She pushed the feeling away, and reminded herself what horrible crime Meda was committing.

“What do I need a good reputation for? If I know one person accepts me, why should I care if millions of people don’t? Reputations and blood status are nothing but pools of darkness, lies, and deceit that foolish people like you fall into. And do you want to know why? Because you have never learned to love.” Andromeda stared her mother down with fierce eyes.

“You use this pool to fill that hole that your heart holds. You pile in lies, selfishness, and pride. You throw in greed, fear, and impatience. The pool feeds off of your hatred for anyone but yourself.

“But do you know what would fill this pool? Expand it, and fill in every nook and cranny? Love. Because love brings joy, life, and it rejoices in someone else’s accomplishments. And with this brings happiness. What else do I need? Love will hold us all together. Love never fails.”

Druella sank against the sofa. “Fine. Go. Ruin my life. Get yourself killed.” She couldn’t win this fight. Her wand slipped from Andromeda’s hand and fell to the carpeted floor.

She watched as her daughter gently opened the grand door, and stepped out into the rain. She watched as the door clicked closed, and listened to the fading footsteps. She watched her daughter walk away from the life she knew and never wanted.

She watched her daughter do the one thing she herself was too scared to do. To
walk away from what was comfortable, and step out into the unknown.

For the first time in years, a single tear rolled down Druella’s face, and fell silently onto her lap.

Love, will hold us together,
Make us a shelter to weather the storm
And I’ll be my brother’s keeper,
So the whole world will know that we’re not alone.