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.
Rushing around her room, she ignored the pain in her cheek. She was certain that it would bruise, but it didn’t matter. It paled in comparison to the other marks she would leave with. At least the bruise would heal.
There was a loud knock on her bedroom door. She ignored it. Why were they even bothering? They had all made their feelings perfectly clear. There was nothing more to say. Why couldn’t they let her leave the house of horrors in peace?
“Andromeda, let me in,” came the shrill voice of her elder sister.
“Bella, leave me alone. I’ve made up my mind. I don’t want any more lectures from you and our parents.”
“It’s just me, Andy. I just want to talk to you. Please, let me in.”
Andromeda knew that it would be against her best interest to let her sister into the room. She knew that Bella was determined to change her mind. Bella wanted her to stay in Black Manor. Her sister wanted her to follow tradition and not her heart. Bella was very persuasive and Andromeda did not wish to have her resolve tested. She loved Ted; that was the only thing that mattered. But could she really refuse to let her sister in? This was likely to be the last time she could talk to Bella. Could she really walk away from her family without a proper goodbye to the sister who had raised her? The answer was no.
She flicked her wand and the door slid open.
Cautiously, Bella stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She looked to her sister’s face and rushed over to her. Bella brushed her hand over Andromeda’s cheek.
“She shouldn’t have hit you.”
“Mother shouldn’t do a lot of things she does, Bella,” Andromeda said, as she tossed socks into the suitcase on her bed.
“Can I heal it for you?”
Andromeda nodded.
Bella raised her wand to her sister’s face and within seconds the pain was gone. Andromeda had always envied her sister’s superior magical skills. She had envied Bella in a lot of ways.
Grabbing some robes from her closet, she continued to pack. “Thank you,” she said stiffly.
Bella sat on the bed. “Come sit with me.”
“I can’t,” she replied. “I have to finish packing. I have to go, Bella, tonight. He’s waiting for me.”
When Bella spoke again, her voice had changed. She no longer sounded concerned, rather, she sounded hurt and angry. “I have given you seventeen years of my life, Andromeda. I was here for you when our parents were not. I never turned you away. I am not going to tie you down and force you to stay in this house. You know you have nothing to fear from me. I’m your sister and I love you. The least you can do is stop jumping around and give me a few minutes of your, all the sudden, very precious time.”
Andromeda stopped dead in her tracks. Bella could be harsh, but she had never snapped at her before. But the worst of it was that she spoke the truth. Bella had practically raised her from birth. She had always been there for her, even when she had to make sacrifices to do it. The least she could do was hear her out. She owed Bella that much, and plenty more.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and joined her sister on the bed. “I know what you have done for Cissy and me. I do appreciate it, Bella. I love you.”
“Then stay.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because I love Ted, too.”
“So you choose him over me, over Cissy. We’re your family, Andromeda. We’re the ones you can count on. Did you know that Cissy is in her room crying? She can’t stand the thought of losing you. I won’t be here much longer to take care of her. What will she do if she’s left here alone?”
“I don’t want Cissy to be here alone, but she’s not a child, Bella. She’s fourteen; she can take care of herself against our parents. I love her. She will always be welcome wherever I am, but I can’t stay here for her. I can’t do that for anyone. But I will help Cissy anyway that I can. If she ever wants to leave this place, she will always have somewhere to go. I’m sorry, but I have to leave, Bella. I love him.”
“He’s really more important to you than us? You’re willing to leave Narcissa to fend for herself? You’re willing to go against everything that I have taught you? You’re willing to choose the Mudblood over the people who have loved you all of your life?”
“I’m not choosing him over you. I’m choosing him because he didn’t make me choose. He proved how much he loves me. He’s willing to tolerate our whole insane family.”
“Our family will never accept him.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“You’re making a mistake.”
“I’m not, Bella. I’m getting away. I’m going to live a life where I’m free. I won’t have to be the perfect pureblood daughter. I won’t have to the listen to boring pureblood jokes or go to boring pureblood parties. I won’t have to watch Aunt Elladora drink herself into a tizzy. My life is going to be normal. That’s what I’ve always wanted. That’s what we’ve all wanted. Why don’t you and Cissy come with me? You can both start over too.”
“I don’t want to start over. I’ve put up with our idiotic family for years. I consented to marry Rodolphus Lestrange. Andromeda, I have paid my dues and I did it so that one day I could run this family. I still believe in the Black name and power. When the elders are gone, we will be all that is left. We can give this family its pride back. That’s what I’ve always wanted. I thought you wanted it too.”
“Bella, we won’t have it. We’ll be married to men, who we don’t love. We’ll have no way to continue the legacy. The only way for us to have a real life is to leave. You can still leave Rodolphus. He’ll be angry, but he can’t hurt you. We can start over. We can start our own legacy.”
“And leave the House of Black in the incompetent hands of our imbecilic cousin. This family has great power, Andromeda. It is not something that I plan to turn my back on. This family needs me; one day I will save it. But it needs you, too. I need you. We can run the family together. Forget the Mudblood. You’ll find a man you can tolerate. It won’t matter. You’ll be the one in charge. You’ll have the power, all the power the Black name can give you.”
“I don’t want power, Bella. I want to live a normal happy life with Ted.”
Bella stared at her blankly. “How could you not want power? What good is a Mudblood to you? With power you could have any man that you wanted.”
“I want Ted.”
“Why are you doing this? I raised you. I loved you. Why are you turning away from me? Why are you throwing your entire life away?”
“I’m not turning away from you. I love you. I don’t care if you come with me or not; I will still love you. It is you who plans to throw me from your life.”
“I cannot associate with the wife of a Mudblood, you know that, Andy. If you leave here, I can no longer be your sister.”
Andromeda nodded. “Then I believe it is you, who is doing the betraying Bella. I will accept what you have told me, but I will always consider you my sister. I will always love you. I hope that one day you will be able to see me as your sister again, not just a blood-traitor.”
Bella stood to leave, knowing she was defeated.
“Goodbye, Andromeda,” she said, as she walked towards the door. “I hope this life you seek will bring you the happiness that you crave.”
“Goodbye, Bella,” Andromeda said from the bed. “I hope you find happiness in the power you crave and that one day I will be free to call you my sister again.”
Without another word, Bella left the room.
Andromeda sighed and continued packing. She knew that Bella was hurt, but nothing could be done about it. They were simply too different. While she would miss her sisters, she still knew she was doing the right thing. Ted wouldn’t leave her an ultimatum as Bella had just done. He would love her forever and that was the love she craved. Who needed power when they had love? What more was there to want?
She rose from the bed and continued packing, a sense of comfort and certainty settling over her.
Goodbye Forever by Sly Severus
Chapter Notes: I would like to thank my beta, Suzie aka crazy_purple_hpfreak.