"All I did was try my best
This the kind of thanks I get?"

Narcissa is not excited for her upcoming year at Hogwarts. To many it was not obvious how much she had hanging over her head, meanwhile Narcissa wasn't sure how she was going to handle it all.

There wasn't much she could do except mull it over in her head and then proceed to ignore it until it became a real issue later on. Once upon a time, she might've told Davina of her problems, yet it seemed those days were beyond her. It was a harsh way to end their relationship—she was all too aware of that—but she couldn't help and think that if she had done it in a nice way, then there would be leftover attachment.

It turns out being mean to people you love doesn't drive away any love that you had for them. Narcissa quickly found it just made it hurt more.

She tried her utmost to regret what she had with Davina, and still, every bone in her body rejected the very thought. The way they fit together would always have a lasting impression on her mind—if she didn't admit that, then she was an idiot.

There was no world where she could accept being only friends with Davina though, which would probably be the same for Davina too. Narcissa had reviewed that as an option because Andromeda kept non-pureblood friends, so why wouldn't she be able to? With that being said, she realized she was simply just too enamored with Davina to even fiddle with the concept anymore.

Thoughts of her filled Narcissa's mind nearly every waking moment of the day. She felt as sick as Andromeda looked by the time they arrived at the Hogwarts Express—the end of summer holiday certainly hadn't been kind to either one of them.

Dwelling on what had happened wouldn't help her any though, so she tried to forget about it the best she could. Of course, the one person she was trying to forget just happened to run right into her the second she made sure Andromeda got to where she was going.

They stared at each other's disarray for a moment, not conscious of those around them. It had always been that way from the very beginning. They were the only two that existed when they were together, and really, nobody else ever stood a chance.

"Cissa-"

Narcissa winced at the nickname, trying hard to put up a front as tears fought their way into her eyes. It had never been easy to hide herself from Davina, and maybe that was why when she began to cry she didn't hide it, allowing Davina to pull her into a bathroom.

They sank to the floor together, Narcissa in Davina's arms. She had a sinking feeling that Davina knew why she broke up with her, but on the other hand, how could she not? There was only ever one thing that was going to get in between them.

"Cissa," Davina coaxed Narcissa's head from her shoulder, attempting to get a glimpse of her silver eyes.

She had always loved her eyes. Although, when they were filled with such a deep sadness at their age, it was difficult to look into them without breaking down yourself.

"Vina," Narcissa replied quietly, her voice barely above a whisper as it crackled.

"Can you tell me what's happening?" Davina asked patiently.

Ever since she had received that letter, she hadn't held much hope in her heart for them. Others might assume Narcissa had acted rashly and that they could fix it, but Narcissa Black didn't hurt people she loved on purpose. And Davina was pretty sure she had fallen under that category of people.

Narcissa didn't respond for a little while, only wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. She sat up straight against the wall of the bathroom, apparently bracing herself for what was about to come. There were about two inches of space between them now, which effectively sealed a permanent barrier between them. Two inches does not sound like a lot, but for a couple who fought for every minute they could get alone together, it was astronomical.

"My mother found our letters," Narcissa spoke, her voice cold as stone. "She said that it was nonsense, and that I can't see you anymore. And-"

"How will she know if we see each other?" Davina asked, trying to fight for what they still had, even if she knew it was gone already.

Narcissa looked over to her sadly, shaking her head slowly she started to speak again.

"Davina, I have to court Lucius Malfoy."

She knew him, of course she did. Everyone knew of him, at least. Davina knew that he had stupidly shiny blond hair, and that he had only hit his growth spurt a few years ago, so he had been the same height as her for years. She knew that he was a part of the Slytherin group she was taught to stay away from, the one that scared the first-years in the corridors.

And most importantly, she knew that in no world was he good enough for Narcissa.

However, Davina was smart enough to realize that Lucius Malfoy was the type of boy that Narcissa had grown up thinking she would marry. A rich, bigoted pureblood who knew of nothing except themself. She also realized that Narcissa wasn't ever going to rebel against her family, not when they kissed in that cupboard, and especially not know, as they sat on the bathroom floor.

"Oh," Davina said, swallowing thickly. "I suppose this is hopeless then."

Narcissa wasn't sure what she was expecting, perhaps a little more of a fight from Davina, or maybe that's just what she was hoping for. Even so, when they got up from their seated positions, looking at each other once more, Narcissa didn't protest the idea of Davina leaving and never coming back.

The only consolidation Narcissa had as she surveyed herself in the mirror was that she knew Davina would be okay. Without Narcissa in her life, she was free to live without the burden of the Black family hanging over her.

Truly, it was better this way.

...

It didn't take a detective to figure out there was something wrong with Andromeda. At first glance, one would accept the "I'm sick" excuse she had given, but Henri knew better than that.

Their friendship had taught her that Andy didn't like asking for help, or talking about her problems, which became problematic when she showed up to the Hogwarts Express shaking like she wasn't able to stop. Ted and Jack also seemed suspicious, yet they had let it go, opting instead for calm conversation over interrogation.

Henri was harder to distract.

Andromeda slept for the majority of the train ride, curled up on the bench with her head on a jumper Ted had given her when she complained of being cold. Henri sat near her feet, going in and out of conversation with the other two as she contemplated what might've happened to Andy.

"Is Davina okay?" Ted asked Jack as their other conversation died down.

Jack cast a side glance at Andy—which Henri did not miss, and suddenly, she became much more involved in this conversation—before he began to respond. It looked like there was something bothering him, but it was almost as if something was holding him back.

"She's getting better I think, but she's having a real rough go at it," Jack replied, the smile that had resided on his face having disappeared.

"What happened to Davina?" Henri asked, concern flooding her tone.

Jack hadn't mentioned anything life-threatening in his letters, but recalling the last few weeks, he had been uncharacteristically quiet about his family. She hoped that there was nothing too terribly wrong with his sister.

"Narcissa broke up with her in a letter," Jack said bitterly, and Henri followed his eyes to Andy.

She sat up straight, making eye contact with Ted, who hadn't seemed to pick up on Jack's resentment like Henri had.

"You don't blame Andy, do you? Because she loved the two of them together," Henri said, attempting to keep the harshness from her tone, yet failing a bit towards the end.

One thing about Henri was that she would always defend Andromeda, until her very last breath.

"No, I don't think it's her fault at all," Jack responded quickly. "She's not her sister."

Henri narrowed her eyes as he drew in a breath to continue. Ted looked a little panicked as the conversation was being carried at a fast speed.

"I just wish she would have advertised her sister differently," Jack said, not maintaining eye contact with anyone in the room. "She could've made sure my sister knew what she was getting into."

Henri felt Andromeda shift next to her, and turned her head to see Andy look at Jack with a raw sadness in her eyes. She got out of the position on her side that she was in, and sat with her feet on the floor.

Henri couldn't help but notice how every move was meticulous like if she made the wrong one, then she'd be in pain. She had the sudden impulse to steal Andy away and take her to the bathroom to check her over for bruising.

"I know you love your sister very much, Jack," Andy spoke quietly. "So, I know those words came from a place of love, but what you don't know is why Narcissa had to break up with Davina."

They sat in a moment of silence as her words sank in.

"Why did you say that like she had no other choice?" Jack asked, a crease in his forehead.

"My mother made sure she didn't have any other choice," Andy said plainly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to change."

Oh, there it was. Henri could hardly imagine what had happened once their mother found out about Davina and Narcissa. She wasn't sure she could fathom the type of anger that Andromeda had surely witnessed.

She hardly squeaked out a "Me too!" before she followed Andy out of their compartment. Having already attended the Prefect meeting, Andromeda was in her Hogwarts uniform, so Henri wasn't sure why she used the excuse of changing, but it worked for her.

As they passed other compartments, Andy looked into them. It became clear as more time went on that Andromeda was looking for someone, and just as Henri began to ask, someone jumped to hug Andy around the waste. She nearly crashed back into Henri because of how unstable she was.

"Meda!" The boy Henri recognized as Sirius exclaimed.

"Sirius!" Andy laughed with ease despite everything. "How've ya been, bud?"

Henri realized there were three other boys staring at them, two of whom appeared to feel awkward about the whole thing. They looked around Sirius's age, and Henri thought happily that maybe he had already made some friends.

"Been better, been worse," Sirius replied, waving at Henri shyly.

She waved back, hiding a laugh at his sudden shyness.

"These are my new friends," Sirius pointed at the three boys. "James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew."

James was the definition of a string bean. He had jet black hair that looked like it had been through a tornado, and rectangular, black glasses that sat in front of big, hazel eyes. He grinned crookedly at them after being introduced.

Remus was much less sure of himself than James was. He had more muscle than James did, but was still pretty lanky. A long scar made its way across his face, going over the bridge of his nose. He had fluffy brown hair, and brown eyes. He gave them a brief smile before turning his gaze towards the ground.

Peter appeared to be antsy. He was shorter than the other two, and his hair was kept a short length. In contrast to the other two, he didn't look to be disheveled. His eyes were a light green, and he followed James's lead by waving at them.

"Hello! I'm Sirius's cousin, Andromeda," she said, mustering the most cheerful tone possible. "That's my friend, Henri."

Henri waved back at the boys and smiled.

"I saw Marlene on the train, said hello," Sirius recalled casually.

Andromeda could tell he was about to say something else, but then an angry Lucius Malfoy appeared out of nowhere. Sirius looked a combination of scared and smug as Malfoy's face was red from anger. Andy instinctively stepped in front of the four boys.

"Is there something I could help you with?" Andy asked him, raising an eyebrow.

She wasn't quite sure what was happening, really only being aware of her cousin's reaction to the boy in front of her. Knowing Sirius, he had probably insulted him somehow, but while she was there, the least she could do was not let him get his neck snapped.

Malfoy fumed. Andromeda was getting tired of just standing around though, so she prompted him to speak by raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sirius exploded my compartment with a dung bomb," he explained.

That explained the smell wafting from him. Meda wouldn't put it past Sirius to do something like that either. So, all in all, it made sense.

She made an unimpressed sound.

"Getting bested by a first-year? I hope that's not something you make a habit of, Malfoy," Meda spoke so sure of herself. "Even so, I know for a fact Sirius doesn't have access to these dung bombs—or whatever you had said earlier—so you must be mistaken."

She could practically hear her cousin's new friends shellshocked expressions. Meda had to cover her smile.

"I was there! I saw him!" Malfoy said, even angrier than before. "Your cousin is no angel."

"I'd be careful who you talk about that way," Meda replied coldly, threats laced between the syllables. "And I would go change before you stink up the whole train."

Almost like how a toddler runs away after stamping their foot on the ground, Malfoy spun away, his blond hair flying behind him. She could hear him as he muttered under his breath, but she let him go, there was only so much she could do with the Black name these days.

"What an arse," Meda said, turning around to find four wonderstruck first-years.

Sirius hugged her middle, gushing about how amazing she was. Laughing as James chimed in, she ruffled Sirius's hair before he let go.

"Now, I'm not accusing you of what you may or may not of done, but I can't stick out my own neck every day for you, alright?" Meda semi-lectured them.

"Alright!" They chorused back proudly.

Looking back, she probably should've disciplined them, however, Andromeda really did have a lot going on, so she used her tiredness as an excuse. She linked arms with Henri, continuing their journey towards the bathroom after wishing the boys luck for their sorting.

Once they finally made it into the washroom, Andy focused on braiding her hair back out of her face—it had become quite the mess since her nap. Henri chattered away from where she was in the stall changing, until she abruptly stopped when she finished.

She made eye contact with Henri in the mirror, who had become very distressed very quickly. Henri rushed over to Andy before she could interpret what the sudden emotion was all about.

"What's this?" Henri lifted her braid to reveal a purple bruise on the back of her head.

Andy's stomach dropped. She had completely forgotten she had been covering that.

"Andy, what's this from?" Henri asked again, even when Andy had a feeling she already had a hunch.

Andromeda stepped back from her, laughing nervously as she went. She took out her braid and fixed her hair.

"Just a bruise," Andy replied, keeping the nerves from her tone. "Nothing to worry about."

Henri leveled her with an I'm not an idiot look. Andromeda didn't budge though, and continued on like everything was fine.

"I know something happened, Andy," Henri said gently. "You don't have to hide it from me."

"I don't want to talk about it," Andy told her, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"Okay, I'm here if you ever do," Henri said simply, hoping Andy would tell her sooner rather than later.

...

If Narcissa wasn't in such a foul place, then Andromeda would've been livid with her. She had begged to sit with Meda during the Welcoming Feast, which wouldn't have been a problem for a normal seventeen year old, but Andromeda was no normal seventeen year old.

The table Narcissa chose to sit at was occupied by her future courtship, Meda's ex-fiancé, and just about every other insane Slytherin that hated Meda. She didn't mind that they hated her because the feeling was mutual, yet she'd rather have sat on the opposite end of the room. So, needless to say, she wasn't having the time of her life.

It didn't look like Sirius was either. He was a fairly confident boy, some might call him arrogant, but Meda knew his tells. His feet danced around when he was nervous, and she couldn't tell from where she was sitting, yet he was probably also biting his lip.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, McGonagall called Sirius's name for his turn. He walked as if he knew what he was doing—Meda had to hand it to him, he had the whole "fake it til you make it" thing down—to the stool and sat down where the hat was placed on his head.

It wasn't an instantaneous decision, although it hardly ever was. She could see a flicker of fear behind Sirius's eyes, and when the hat called out it's decision she wasn't surprised.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

For a horrible moment, nobody clapped. Sirius had trouble getting off the stool, rather looking a mix of relief and that he may throw up any second. The Slytherin table didn't move an inch, but it didn't take long for the Gryffindor table to explode.

Andromeda could hardly recall a time where they had cheered louder, and she was glad it was for Sirius. Merlin knew he would need some people on his side.

The mood of the Slytherin table was subdued for the rest of dinner. Meda could've laughed at the look on Narcissa's face. She was so shocked that her mouth hung open until Meda reminded her to close it.

No one mentioned the elephant in the room, which arguably, made it all worse. Andromeda didn't dare bring it up though as she really didn't wish to cross the people she was around at that second.

She ate until she was stuffed, and then prepared to gather the students for bed. First, she found Ted, gave him a quick smile, and began to give orders to prefects who followed them diligently.

As people milled around her, she felt a tug on her hand. At her side, she found Sirius, whose stress could be found in the lines on his face. She knew what he needed, and after silently communicating with Ted, she tucked Sirius into her side and walked out of the Great Hall with him.

They walked around the corridors until they found an empty one. Andromeda transfigured a stray piece of parchment into a bench where they sat together wordlessly.

"Mum and dad are gonna be so mad," Sirius said, his voice barely above a whisper. "They said I had one job before I left, and that it was to get into Slytherin to honor the family name."

Feeling heartbroken for the boy, she sat with her arm around his shoulders, trying desperately to think of the right thing to say. She couldn't imagine how afraid Sirius was of them finding out he had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"Your only job, Sirius, is to be a good person," Meda said thoughtfully. "Anyone who tells you anything different is just wrong."

He thought about that for a moment with a pensive look on his face.

"What if I'm not meant for Gryffindor?" Sirius asked, anxiety giving his voice a slight edge. "What if the hat made a mistake?"

The thought that Sirius wasn't made for Gryffindor was laughable. She wasn't sure why it had never occurred to her before that he might not be sorted in Slytherin. The house of red and gold was certainly a better house for his personality, and she decided it would be good for his thought processes too.

"I really don't think there's a better fit for you, if I'm being honest," Meda told him. "You're so incredibly loyal, and daring is practically your middle name at this point. I know being in Slytherin runs in the family, but honestly, there's nothing wrong with being a Gryffindor."

Sirius made a noncommittal noise.

"Besides, aren't your new friends in Gryffindor too?" Meda asked. "I'm pretty sure I saw them all get sorted there."

"Yeah, Marlene was excited we were in the same house," Sirius replied, a small smile appearing on his face. "You know, she's the one who gave me the dung bomb."

Meda laughed and shook her head slowly.

"Of course, she did."

...

Andromeda's favorite perk of being the head girl so far was getting a new dorm. She had dealt with side glances and hateful mutters for much too long not to revel in this newfound privilege. Even better, Ted was just a room away.

As the head students, they shared a common room that split off into two bedrooms, which were each given a separate bathroom for them to use. The common room was a bit smaller than the ones they were used too, but it was homey, and came with a large collection of books of all kinds.

Andy arrived to the common room after Ted using the directions and password that McGonagall had given them. Inside, she found Ted laying on the couch, practically falling asleep already.

"You tired?" She asked, smiling at the sight.

Ted really was too adorable for his own good.

"Just a bit," Ted answered, yawning openly. He looked over at her to see her staring into the crackling fire. "You alright?"

She snapped out of the trance she was in, unaware initially she had been in one in the first place. Andy nearly plastered a smile on her face until Ted gave her a look. A "Don't you dare lie to me" look, and he didn't really need to do that anyway because she found herself unable to.

Andromeda wasn't sure how long this had been happening for, but any time a lie sprung to her lips—which was often because of how she was raised—a look from Ted would render the lie completely useless. She found it kind of stupid at this point. How she was supposed to function with him around was unknown to her.

"I'll be alright," Andy said finally.

There was much more than a can of worms waiting to be released, yet Andy wanted to bask in pretending the end of summer just had not happened. She was able to do that at Hogwarts, and so, she would.

...

Song: brutal
By: Olivia Rodrigo

I swear this chapter took so much longer for me to write than normal. Anyway, in less than two weeks I have an exam I need to pass (an AP exam for those in the US) so I'm not sure how much time I'll have to dedicate to writing.

I wanted to make Davina and Narcissa endgame so badly, but to do that was to blow up both my plot and canon. If it could've worked out, I would've seen it through because I love them.

Jack seriously doesn't blame Andromeda, but it's hard to see your sibling go through heartbreak. I promise he's still just adjusting to seeing Davina sad.

I love you all and hope you're doing well! 🫶

Lmao anyways thanks for reading
-teddy xx