The Black Rose

Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Soon it was February and not much had happened in the meantime besides small spats between the Black sisters. But the worst of their fights was yet to come and it was Andromeda who started it.

“Bella, you really ought to be more sociable. Mother wouldn’t want you alone all the time.”

“I’m hardly ever alone, Meda,” Bellatrix said without looking up from her Herbology homework. “The Carrows, Monroe, and Goyle are more than enough company.” She continued to write the on uses of willow-weed in silence. For a moment, though, she had thought her sister dropped the subject. She should have known better.

Andromeda twirled her dark brown hair around her finger and stared up at Bellatrix. “They are all perfectly dull. None of them have any spirit whatsoever and you’re much too good for them.” Bellatrix ignored her sister’s statement. “Father wouldn’t be pleased if he found out that you were limiting yourself to the scum of the Earth.”

Bellatrix sighed at her sister’s obvious lack of experience and shook her head. “Father would be fine with my choice in company,” she explained and hesitated before continuing. “You see, friends should always be in good social standing and they certainly shouldn’t have any serious flaws.”

“But your ‘friends’ do have serious flaws, Bella. They are all uncommonly thick.”

“Andromeda!” Bellatrix exclaimed in surprise. “There was absolutely no reason for you to offend them.”

Andromeda shrugged her shoulders and looked around mockingly. “But Bella, we’re the only ones in the dorm room. They can’t possibly be offended if they don’t know what I said.” She tugged at the hair still wrapped around her fingers and once again fixed Bellatrix with her dark gray eyes. “That is unless you tell them, of course.”

“I would do no such thing,” Bellatrix snapped. “They don’t need to know how much my little sister lacks in manners.”

“Because they do.”

“Certainly more so than you.”

It was Andromeda’s turn to sigh then. “Well, if you really don’t want to meet any other people who would be much more suited to you, then I suppose I’ll just leave you alone then.” Andromeda stood up and slowly walked towards the door, her eyes on the floor, and her shoulders slouched in defeat.

Bellatrix watched in surprise, having never seen her sister accept defeat so quickly. “Wait, Meda.” Her twin sister stopped but didn’t turn around. “If you have someone you want me to meet, I will. I don’t suppose that having more friends could hurt.”

Andromeda clapped her hands in delight. “Oh, Bella! Thank you so much. You won’t regret it, I promise.” She skipped out of the room and Bellatrix smiled as she shook her head and the door closed behind Andromeda.

For a while there was a peace between the sisters and their new friend who turned out to be a Ravenclaw named Karma Carmichael. She was sweet and clever and she was always willing to help with homework should Bellatrix need it, which was rare. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with Karma at all with the exception that she didn’t like to talk much about anything related to her family and the outside world. It was always school; professors, classmates, work, Quidditch, Hogsmeade, gossip, and jokes.

Bellatrix didn’t mind. It was refreshing to not have to talk about her parents who hadn’t called the sisters home for Christmas. All they had done to acknowledge that they had daughters in Hogwarts was to send a single package for each of them with a precise, crisp note attached.

Remember to behave yourselves. We do not want to receive notices of misbehavior. Take care of each other and make us proud.
Your mother,
Druella Black.

That’s what Bellatrix’s said at least. She noticed with some envy that Andromeda’s was quite a bit longer although Andromeda did look disgusted by it and proceeded to dispose of her present. That aside, Bellatrix was glad she wasn’t forced to talk about her family to Karma Carmichael. Family was a popular topic in the Slytherin circle for obvious reasons.

It wasn’t until March when Mercy Monroe passed Bellatrix and Andromeda in the corridor as they made their way to the Great Hall that Bellatrix began to question Ms. Carmichael’s lineage.

“I hope you sit with us, Bella,” Mercy started. “If you continue choosing to sit with that Ravenclaw filth we won’t let you join us again.” She passed the sisters quickly and then added over her shoulder. “We’ve allowed your experiment to go on long enough. Don’t betray us.” Mercy continued into the Great Hall without turning around again.

But Bellatrix had stopped and stared after her uncertainly. “What was she talking about, Meda?”

“It’s nothing to worry about. Let’s go eat, I’m starving.” The pair entered the Great Hall and Andromeda made a bee-line straight for the Ravenclaw table and took a seat next to Carmichael. They waved to her and smiled but Bellatrix looked further down the hall at the Slytherin table and hesitated just a moment before making up her mind. She walked confidently to the table and dropped into the seat next to Alecto Carrow and across from Mercy.

Mercy smiled at her and Alecto grinned from ear to ear. “Great to have you back, Bella. We were starting to think you’d gone blood-traitor on us,” Alecto commented, before shoveling a spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth.

“Me a blood-traitor?” Bellatrix scoffed. “Whatever would make you think that I would ever turn into a blood-traitor? It hadn’t even crossed my mind to converse with the filth.”

“We’ve done a little research on your ‘friend’, Bella. We know all types of things about her that would make you sick. So I shan’t repeat them here,” Mercy said with a wicked grin beginning to mar her child-like face.

“Like what?” Bellatrix asked cautiously.

“Oh, enough.”

Alecto sighed and shook her head. “Didn’t she ever tell you?” she asked Bellatrix.

“I’m guessing not since I have absolutely no idea what either of you are talking about.”

Alecto and Mercy exchanged a look. “I told you she didn’t know,” Mercy finally said. “Bellatrix would never stoop to that level willingly.”

“I assumed that Bellatrix and Andromeda were just going to play some sort of trick on the girl. I didn’t think that they didn’t know about her,” Alecto defended. She turned to Bellatrix. “If I had known the truth, I swear on Merlin’s grave I would have told you much sooner.”

“Told me what?” Bellatrix asked, dreading the words she was afraid of hearing, of the truth she was already piecing together.

“Bella, Carmichael is a mud-blood,” Alecto whispered.

Mercy was right. Bellatrix felt her stomach clench painfully and the rose into her stomach. She did the only thing that would ever make the feeling go away. She turned over and threw up behind her. Alecto held her hair away from her mouth as the bile came out.

“Come now, Bella. It’s alright,” Alecto mumbled consoling her. “You didn’t know. You can’t be blamed for not knowing.”

When she managed to compose herself, one of the older students vanished the sickness splattered onto the stone floor and she thanked him. He simply nodded and then Bellatrix looked back at her friends, took the napkin that Mercy was offering her and wiped her mouth clean. “Feel better?” Mercy asked. Bellatrix just nodded. Then a sudden thought struck her.

“Meda! She doesn’t know!” Bellatrix stood up quickly before her friends could stop her and ran over to the Ravenclaw table. “Meda, may I talk to you for a moment in private?”

Andromeda eyed her sister for an instant before standing up and waving to Carmichael walked out into the Entrance Hall. Bellatrix glared at the girl before turning on her heel and storming out. “What’s wrong?” Andromeda asked when Bellatrix finally reached her and the door closed drowning most of the noise from the Great Hall.

“Carmichael,” she spat. “That little rat didn’t tell us she was a filthy mudblood! And there we were making fools of ourselves and believing her little charade as a respectable witch!”

“Why is it so bad that Karma is a muggle-born?” Andromeda asked. “She’s a perfectly lovely girl and has been ever so kind to you, but you say horrible things about her the moment she turns out to be what you don’t expect? I just proved to you that muggle-borns are just as wonderful and respectable as those trolls you spend your time with and you still prefer them over Karma?!”

“You mean you knew?” Bellatrix questioned, her voice dropping dangerously low.

“Of course, I did – ”

Suddenly, with the rage of a feral animal, Bellatrix launched herself at Andromeda and the two didn’t stop until a teacher, disturbed by a scream from the Great Hall came and pulled them apart. Bellatrix’s hair was wild and loose, scratches trailing down her face and arms, and a small bruise forming just under her eye. Andromeda wasn’t so fortunate. She held her bleeding nose and sported a split lip; one of her front teeth had been knocked loose and would most likely be removed and regrown.

“This is a most disgusting display of muggle fighting!” the professor cried out as soon as order was restored. “In all my years teaching, I have never seen such a scene. And from sisters at that!” When neither of them replied the professor growled out, “To the Hospital Wing, both of you. You have lost your house 20 points and the head of house will decide what other punishments would be fit for you.”

With that the professor turned into the Great Hall and the sisters glared at each other before heading up to the Hospital Wing. “Just for the record,” Andromeda stated, “I officially hate you.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Bellatrix growled.