Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or anything in their magical world. These characters and their world belong to the talented J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros.
Bella felt her sister’s arms wrap around her. She allowed her body to relax in the embrace, and continued to sob. No one had held her since Narcissa had died. She had been alone, and until that moment she believed that she would be fine that way. But all the sudden, she knew that she needed the comfort her estranged sister was offering.
“Shh,” Andromeda whispered, as she stroked her hair. “It’ll be okay. Don’t get yourself upset. This is probably reversible. I’m sure you’ll get your sight back. You’ve been through a lot. One of my old friends from school became a Healer. She’s agreed to check on you, without sending either of us to Azkaban. I’m sure she can tell you what’s wrong and how long it will last.”
Bella didn’t like the sound of that. She didn’t want some stranger probing at her, especially when she couldn’t see. And just because this woman was friends with Andromeda years ago, it didn’t mean they could trust her. But what could she do about it? She was hardly in any position to argue. She was lucky that her sister had taken her in at all. The least she could do was pretend to trust her judgment. She decided it would be best to change the subject, and ask the questions that really needed to be asked.
“Why are you doing this? Why didn’t you listen to Ted? Why didn’t you just send me to Azkaban?”
“You heard us talking?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not sending you to Azkaban because you’re my sister, and I love you..”
“After everything I’ve done.”
“Of course.”
“What if I never see again? You can’t take care of me forever.”
She felt Andromeda’s grip tighten around her shoulders.
“Sure I can,” Andromeda told her. “But don’t worry about that now. I’m sure your vision loss is only temporary. Your body has been through a lot. You just need some time to recover, and then everything will go back to normal.”
Bella managed a weak nod, but she did not believe her sister’s words. There was no doubt in her mind that her blindness was permanent. Rodolphus wouldn’t have left her any other way. He would want at least a part of her punishment to last forever.
“Let me get you a drink,” Andromeda said, rising from the bed. “Your voice sounds hoarse and your lips look so dry. The Healer should be here soon, and I was hoping that we could talk first.”
Bella nodded again, but she didn’t know if Andromeda was looking at her or not. It didn’t matter. In that moment, very little mattered.
It wasn’t long before Andromeda rejoined her on the edge of the bed. She felt a cold glass being forced into her hand. She accepted the glass and raised it to her cracked lips. Timidly, she sipped at the water. The liquid soothed her parched throat.
“Thank you, Andy,” she said sincerely, using the name she and Narcissa had called her growing up.
“Do you feel like telling me what happened?” Andromeda asked, as she draped her arm around Bella’s shoulders.
“No,” she replied, honestly, “but at the very least, I owe you an explanation.”
“It can wait if you’re not up to it.”
Bella shook her head. “No, you have a right to know. You’re risking your life to keep me here, the least I can do is tell you what happened. It started during the final battle. I was fighting with the werewolf, Lupin, when I saw Potter use the Killing Curse on the Dark Lord. I didn’t expect it to work. I didn’t think for a second that it would work. I thought he would get up and finish the brat off. But it quickly became clear that it wasn’t going to happen. He was dead. My master would never rise again. I fled. I knew the Ministry would be arriving, and there was nothing left for me to fight for.”
“What about the duel with Lupin?”
“Your daughter went down. It was clear that she wasn’t seriously injured, but it was enough to distract him. I was able to slip away without being seen by any Order members or Death Eaters, or so I thought.”
“Where did you go?”
“I headed straight for the woods. I thought it would make it harder for anyone to find me. I wasn’t really sure where I was going. Normally, I would have gone to Cissy, but I’m sure you heard about her. Ironically, I considered going to you, but I didn’t even know where you lived. I also doubted you would really want me turning up on your doorstep.”
“Why did you think of me?”
Bella shrugged. “I suppose because you’re my sister. You’re the only family I have left.”
“I’m glad you still consider me family.”
“Regardless of what I said, I never stopped thinking of you as my sister. I just said what was expected of me. I’m sorry if I hurt you. We just had different lives and different beliefs. Our choices tore us apart, but we’ll always be connected. We’ll always be sisters.”
“It means a lot to hear you say that,” Andromeda told her, choking on her words. “Please tell me the rest of your story.”
“Well, I went through the woods on foot. I didn’t dare use magic. I don’t know how long I was out there, but somehow, he managed to find me.”
“Who?”
“Rodolphus. He was furious that I deserted the Death Eaters after the fall of the Dark Lord. He must have seen me flee. He managed to get my wand before I even knew that he was there. He beat me until I was nearly unconscious, and then he switched to the Cruciatus Curse. He must have cursed me fifty times. I don’t know why I didn’t end up like the Longbottoms. Then just before I passed out, he used a curse that I didn’t recognize. I’m guessing that’s why I can’t see.”
“I’m sorry,” Andromeda told her. “But I’m glad that I was able to find you.”
“I’m not so sure that was a coincidence.”
“What do you mean?”
“I think Rodolphus left me there so you would find me. He must have thought that you would turn me over to the Ministry. It was the last way he could think of to hurt me. He wanted me to sit in Azkaban knowing that my only surviving family member put me there.”
“Well, he was wrong. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“But I don’t know what he’ll do when he finds out he was wrong. He could come after you or your family.”
“Don’t worry about that. My family can fend for themselves, especially my daughter. It’s you I’m concerned about. In your condition, you can’t defend yourself against anyone, Rodolphus or the Ministry.”
“That’s the way Rodolphus likes me.”
“He’s not going to hurt you again,” Andromeda promised her, clutching her hand tightly. “I’ll protect you. For now, you should get some rest. The Healer will be here soon, and you’re going to be exhausted.”
Andromeda kissed her sister softly on the forehead, and left the room.