Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
Chapter 21: The Older Sister
"Why is she following us?" Peter glanced behind them with concern.
"I believe she is following James…" Remus didn't miss the way Bella kept her eyes fixated on his friend.
"Did you make her fall again? You really need to stop doing that," Sirius said. "You have no idea how crazy my cousin can get when she's angry."
"I do have a good idea," James muttered. "And I did nothing to her."
The only thing he had done was reject her request...politely, or at least he had tried. She was not one to take no for an answer.
'One thing is to share a class with a younger version of Bellatrix
Lestrange, but to teach her my brewing methods?... Not a chance.' James frowned, recalling the war and his encounters with that madwoman.
Over a century may have passed for him since those days, but he still had vivid memories from that time.
More than enough to keep him on his toes when he was near her or her friends.
"Oh, looks like she's gone," Peter finally said when he could no longer see her.
"That's good. Slytherins only bring trouble, and we've had enough with Snape already," Remus added.
A short distance away, around a corner, Bellatrix had stopped because she had been called by her sister.
"What do you want?" She was in a really bad mood right now.
'How dare Potter reject my request?...' she thought bitterly.
"That's no way to address your older sister." Andromeda Black stared at her with her deep black eyes. "Did you get into a fight with those Gryffindor boys? It looked like you were getting ready to curse them."
Bella snapped at Andromeda. "That's none of your business." She had never gotten along with her older sister. Their views were too different from what their family had taught them since childhood.
If that wasn't enough, Andromeda was now sneaking around with a boy their family would never approve of.
"Shouldn't you be with your new boyfriend, the mudblood?" Bella sneered.
Andromeda was shocked by the comment and looked around to make sure no one had heard. "How did you… Did you tell anyone about that?"
"Obviously not… Mother would have come here in person and dragged you back home so she could curse you," Bella said.
Andromeda flinched at the mental image. That did sound like something their mother would do. Her eyes then moved back to Bella. "Thank you for not telling on me."
"Tsk…" Bella looked away. "You're still my sister."
Andromeda smiled. They may not get along, but Bella was very loyal to her and Narcissa when it truly counted.
Bella's purple eyes met Andromeda's black ones. "But you need to stop seeing that mudblood. Even if I keep my mouth shut, it's just a matter of time before someone else finds out."
"Bella, you need to stop using that word at school… And it's not that simple…" Andromeda lowered her gaze.
"Everyone in our family uses it," Bella responded. Although she was aware that it could get her in trouble if she said it in front of a professor, she only used it when she was alone with her housemates.
"And what do you mean by 'not simple'? Just tell him off."
"But I really like him…" Andromeda's cheeks became a bit red. "I think… I may love him."
Bellatrix frowned. She hated that word. Love was a forbidden concept in the Black family.
One did not date or marry for love...only to form connections that would benefit the family in some way.
"What makes you so special?" Bellatrix had to put in effort to control the volume of her voice.
"Bella…" Andromeda knew well why her sister got upset at the mere mention of that word.
"Don't give me that. Why do our house rules apply to everyone but you?" Bella asked. She had been told she had to marry Rodolphus Lestrange because it would be good for their family, and she had not complained, not even once. Despite the fact that she hated that violent, dumb hunk of muscle with all her heart.
"You're supposed to marry the heir to the Rosier family," Bella reminded her.
"He is an awful man…" Andromeda said. Not only did he have a twisted personality, but he was also more than twice her age, already reaching his mid-thirties. "I refuse t—"
"You refuse?... Do you even know what you're saying?" Bellatrix looked outraged. "Do you understand the consequences of those words?"
"Okay, calm down, Bella. You're right. I was just being silly." Andromeda tried to placate her sister before she became even more upset. She knew there was no chance of convincing her otherwise.
Of the three sisters, Bella had always been the favorite target of their mother's anger.
Since she was little, Bella had been engraved with the lesson that family comes first...more so than Andromeda or Narcissa.
Andromeda understood this, so she gave up trying to change her mind. That was probably impossible.
Her words had an effect on Bella, and she seemed to calm down.
"It's good that you finally came to your senses…"
Andromeda nodded. "By the way," she said, deciding to change the topic. "Are you going to tell me why you were following those Gryffindor boys?"
"I told you it wasn't your business."
"Oh, but it is! If they did something to my little sister, I will teach them a lesson they won't forget." Andromeda's tone sounded jovial, but she meant every word.
"I can take care of myself. But it's not like that anyway… I just wanted to speak with one of them."
"About…?" Andromeda was now genuinely curious. Her sister had never shown any real interest in any boy before.
"Potions," Bella responded.
"Potions?" Andromeda tilted her head. This was not the answer she had expected to hear.
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