The disownment of Andromeda
The very night that sacred bonds within the Black family were broken and sides were chosen within 12 Grimmauld Place began during a surprisingly stormy and dark night in late August of 1972. Rain lightly pounded on the rooftop of the ancestral Black family home, as well as bobbed, listed, righted itself once again, dived bravely through whirlpools, and continued down the lonely London street. At the edge of the street was a lightpost, glowing brightly in the darkness of the night. That surprisingly cool June night marked the one-week mark of the rainfall, and there were winds two days ago. Most homes on the block had already lost their power and it was not back on yet.
Inside one of the extravagant bedrooms of 12 Grimmauld Place, the sound of piano music softly filled the air as a young girl laid on her bed, finishing the last of her homework for her Transfiguration classes. Ravenclaw posters hung on the walls of this bedroom, though it was hidden by antiques of sorts such as a piano, a huge closet, and a dancing barre. Though piano music continued to play, the rain outside was a comfortable, almost cozy sound. Even at twelve years old, Cassiopeia Black was different from both her twin brother Sirius Orion Black III and the rest of her family, being the first Black sorted into Ravenclaw.
Her bedroom door slid open half-heartedly and her twin brother stepped inside, a dog-like grin on his face "Cas, it's nearly eleven at night." He flopped down onto her bed, kicking his feet back "You know Kreacher will throw a fit and tell Mother if he catches you awake."
"I couldn't sleep, Siri," Cassiopeia shot back, her lips pursing in the slightest annoyance yet fondness for her twin brother. She shrugged her shoulders apologetically, her face softening ever so slightly "You know I often have trouble sleeping..."
"What is this, the fourth night in a row?" Sirius crossed his arms across his chest, his pale face going blank for a moment as he tried to think of what could be disturbing his sister "You going for some kind of record here? A second year insomniac's Hall of Fame?"
Pausing her quill slightly, Cassiopeia thought over what she wanted to say. Memories of her first year flashed through her mind, while their family weren't as angry with her sorting as they were with Sirius'.....there was still something missing from before she went to Hogwarts. While their parents weren't like those of James Potter, Cassiopeia still had fond memories prior to Hogwarts. How her mother would gently encourage her while playing the piano and dancing and how her father taught her everything that he knew about politics.
"Siri?" Her voice came out weak, almost like a whimper. Clearing her throat, Cassiopeia looked her twin brother in the eye "Do you think Father and Mother love us, even though we aren't in Slytherin?"
The question took the young Sirius Black aback for a moment and he stared at his twin sister with his mouth slightly open. Becoming friends with James, Remus, and Peter had slowly but surely opened his eyes to the idea that their parents might have been lying to them when it came to muggles and muggleborns. But it seemed like his sister still held onto the idea of their parents still caring for them in their own way like they had before. Thinking over what he wanted to say, Sirius finally met her gaze, so much like their mother's icy gaze "Cas, Mother and Father still do care about us, even if we are different."
That answer didn't seem to convince his twin sister at all as she put her homework and quill away with a lightly trembling hand. Cassiopeia placed her hands on her lap, her heart racing ever so slightly "I don't know Sirius, when we came back from Hogwarts this summer, Mother and Father looked at us differently.....It took me a while to notice but after they picked us up..." her voice cracked as Cassiopeia forced her tears back, she wouldn't cry. Wouldn't show any weaknesses "They haven't looked at us the same way they had before we went off to Hogwarts..."
As much as Sirius didn't want to admit it out loud, he knew she was right. Their parents hadn't been the same ever since Sirius reluctantly sent them mail of their sortings. There was more of a.....space, a distance between them that hadn't been there before. Sirius' usual nightly walks and looking at the stars and constellations with their father had all but ceased, leaving Sirius to do it on his own in secrecy. He took his sister's hand into his own, noting her tremble "Cas, even if our parents treat us differently, we still have each other and Andromeda to go to..."
Out of all of them, Andromeda had been the most caring and understanding of their sortings, even getting her own Ravenclaw and Gryffindor scarves in secret.
Suddenly, a loud, booming voice came from downstairs, a voice that made both twins jump and caused them both to pale drastically,
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
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Shouting and yelling erupted from downstairs, causing Cassiopeia to whimper, drawing closer to her twin. Pulling out his wand, Sirius motioned for her to stay silent as he slowly crept to the doorway. Deep down, the feeling he had only got worse as he could briefly see his mother looking more furious than Sirius had ever seen her pacing around, running her hand through her elegant black hairdo. Sirius made sure to stay hidden, knowing fully well what could happen if she spotted him.
"Unbelievable, such a disgrace!" His aunt, Druella Rosier, then screeched in a deathly calm voice. This scared him more than that of his mother's, his aunt was normally so calm and dignified. Even in the brief times of disorder during his childhood, Druella Rosier-Black always kept a level head. This meant that whatever happened was likely.... "My own daughter, engaged to a mudblood!"
The simple sentence caused Sirius to freeze and behind him, he could hear Cassiopeia gasping slightly, her eyes huge with absolute horror as she took in this information. Even if she wasn't as close to Andromeda as he was, she knew more than anything what this meant. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at the entrance of her bedroom, knowing fully well what was about to happen.
"On this day, she is not a Black anymore," His Mother stated grimly, heading swiftly to the tapestry room, causing Sirius' heart to thump. It didn't take long before a familiar blasting sound from a wand made Sirius grimace and swiftly close the door, but not before hearing those words...
"Leave this house! You are no longer a member of this house!"
Once he had closed the door, he could immediately hear soft sobbing from behind him. Sirius quickly strode for his twin sister, looking at her sorrowfully. Tears cascaded down his twin's pale face like a waterfall as she stared up at him with teary eyes before opening her mouth,
"Why?" It was all Cassiopeia could say at that moment. Her parents had just disowned Andromeda for being engaged to someone that she truly loved. Even if she had only known the Hufflepuff muggleborn Ted Tonks for a year, Cassiopeia knew that he did truly care about her cousin and her happiness "Why did they--"
"This...." Sirius looked at her somberly, knowing she just had the biggest reality check ever since Hogwarts started, and placed his hand on her shoulder "This is what I've been trying to warn you about Cas, ever since our sorting, we're different in the eyes of Mother and Father, And if we're not careful..." he gestured towards her closed bedroom door.
It didn't take long for Cassiopeia to completely collapse into sobs, the world she once knew was completely shattered into pieces. Now, she saw the parents she once loved in the same way that her classmates viewed them. In her mind's eye, she could still remember Emmeline's look of worry and disgust as Cassiopeia described her parents during their first night in the Ravenclaw dorms.
Oh Merlin, she was so right! Emmy, I'm so sorry!
The rose-colored glasses had finally fallen off for the first time since September of 1991, and Cassiopeia had a strong feeling that it was just the beginning...
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It was around midnight, just after Cassiopeia had cried herself to sleep, that she found herself waking up to two loud cracking noises. Slowly pushing Sirius' arm off of her, Cassiopeia slowly stood up on weak, shaky legs, and a hazy, tearful vision as she slowly made her way to her bedroom door. Now 12 Grimmauld Place was dark and ominous as she slowly opened her bedroom door, hoping and praying it didn't creak and wake everyone up. In the foyer, she could see two hooded figures, one of them lowered her hood, revealing midnight black curls and a haughty, pale face,
"Bellatrix, where have you been?" Her aunt Druella hissed in a cold, clear voice, her pale, prim face illuminated by her glowing wand. Her blonde hair and slight bags under her eyes made her look like a drowned woman. Tossing her wild curls onto her shoulders, Bellatrix stood tall and proud, looking very excited "Mother, I finally did something that could fix everything wrong with this world and with what Andromeda did." She looked uncharacteristically excited, almost jumping out of her skin. Only to be slowly calmed down by Rodolphus. The two had been married ever since Cassiopeia's first Christmas break at Hogwarts.
Druella waited, her expression growing impatient before Bellatrix promptly pulled up her sleeve "Me and Rodolphus have joined the Dark Lord, Mother." Bellatrix's expression held so much joy, happiness, and hope but everything about it was so wrong. There, on her left forearm, was the Dark Mark--a dark snake in an intricate pattern. The very sight of it made Cassiopeia sick and made her heart break all at once. Tears leaked in her eyes and a soft, quiet sob broke through her lips as she ducked back in her bedroom, closing the door, and running back to cuddle with her twin brother. He was one of the few family members she had left now, she couldn't trust anyone else except for Sirius and their uncle Alphard.
In her mind's eye, she could still remember when she was young and naive, trailing after Bellatrix like a lost duckling and wanting to be just like her growing up. Now, Cassiopeia could see this, could see all of it, as it truly was. Could now see that the family she thought would genuinely and truly love her and Sirius for what they truly were now, how most of the Wizarding World saw them.....
One big nightmarish lie.