Chapter 2-A Damning Letter!

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ANDROMEDA BLACK

Andromeda Black pulled her little sister to their room, her mind racing as she tried to imagine the storm that was waiting for them. For only she knew that the lie told by her sister could have massive ramifications.

"Andy…." Narcissa pleaded, yet she was in no mood to listen as she pulled her inside their room and closed it down.

Finally, she turned to face her blonde-haired signal, who at least had the conscience to not meet her gaze.

"Do you have any idea what you have just done!" she nearly screamed as Narcissa seemed to fold onto herself and continued to look down.

"I ju…" she tried to say something, but Andromeda was having none of it.

"You what! What the hell happened down there? You were supposed to tell them about Lucius's behavior and his actions. Instead, somehow, in the span of few hours, you appear to have fallen in love with Alden Potter," she rebuked her sister, who chewed her lips, as she began to sniff.

And seeing her eyes tear up, her heart softened as she sighed and pulled back her hair. Plopping herself on her bed, she tried to calm herself down as she turned towards Narcissa once more.

"Why did you do this, Cissa? Do you have any idea how much of a mess this could cause?" she questioned softly, and Narcissa finally looked up at her as a tear fell down her face.

"I don't know. When I saw Father, I just felt that even if I told him about Lucius' behavior he wouldn't have cared. So, I just…." She said, and Andromeda couldn't argue with her.

She, of all people, knew of her father's behavior. And Cissa's fear was not unfounded. After all, a similar thing had happened with her. Though she had a plan of her own to deal with her own situation, her days in this home were already numbered.

She sighed as she pulled her dear sister into her and gave her a hug. In this accursed house, she was perhaps the only one who could understand what she was going through. And as angry as she was, she could never truly blame her.

They were victims of their father's ambition. All of them.

"What am I going to do now?" Cissa cried into the crook of her neck, making her sigh as she soothed her, as an elder sister should her own mind racing to resolve the mess she had landed herself in.

"Don't worry, I will see what I can do," she assured her.

Her impromptu kiss to Alden had already caused him a lot of problems. And that was no exaggeration. From what she had heard, his girlfriend had broken up with him, and she knew that Alden was quite angry at Narcissa for that.

However, it was good that despite being a Ravenclaw, he had the heart of a Gryffindor, and it loathed her to take advantage of her friend like this. For her sister, there was little she wouldn't do, and she knew Alden would go along with it as well, after some grumblings. And it was that very thing that made her feel more guilty of taking advantage of him like this.

As the two sisters remained bound to each other, seeking solace in each other's arms. They were roused by a violent knock on their door.

"Andy! Cissa! Open up," and she frowned as she recognized just whose voice it was.

"Coming," she said as she moved to open the door for their eldest sibling.

And as she unbolted the room, Bellatrix rushed into the room with a snarl.

"Where is she!" she questioned sharply as she moved past her and towards their youngest sibling.

"What the hell was that Cissa? You would dare choose a blood traitor over a true pure blood like Lucius. Do you have any idea what you have done!" Bellatrix snarled, and a small part of Andromeda missed the younger Bellatrix, the one who would smuggle them sweets and help them play pranks on Sirius.

Yet that Bellatrix was now gone, lost under this zealot, who saw nothing but that damn Dark Lord.

Cissa was in no state to answer, so she cut in.

"Leave her alone, Bellatrix," she added from behind as Bella turned to face her with that vengeful gaze.

"You too, Andy. I had thought you would chastise her, yet you are here supporting this farce! With Cissa's marriage, we would have been bound to the Dark Lord's cause, and Grandfather would have had no choice, and yet you are supporting her!" she looked at her with a betrayed gaze.

Yet she didn't let it affect him, neither did she let her disgust show.

The Dark Lord, she had met the man once, and that was enough to get a measure of him. He was a leech, one that wished to use the life of all these gullible fools, he was playing with them, and they were all too drunk on that man's power to see it.

And never in the seven hells would she ever let herself become enslaved to a man like that.

"The heart wants what the heart wants," she said as she shrugged.

"Plus, it's not like she is marrying a half-blood, or god forbid, a mud blood," she continued and saw Bellatrix's eyes narrow as she shook her head.

"This is wrong! You were meant to marry Lucius. The Dark Lord himself was elated by the match and was impressed with the devotion shown by our family. How shall I answer him now," her eldest sister complained, and anger rose in her heart as she listened to those words.

"Why do you have to answer to him? We are the Blacks, we are British royalty itself, we are answerable to no one," she began, and Bellatrix looked at as if she had desecrated God itself.

"You take that back! Do you have any idea who the Dark Lord is? He is our savior! He shall lead us against the heathens that plague our society," and so and so she went, and her heart broke with each sentence.

Yet it also strengthened her resolve to mold her own fate.

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CHARLUS POTTER

The birth of Alden Potter had been a miracle for him and his lady wife, both of them had long given up any hope for a child after years and years of disappointments. And so, when the healers at St. Mungo's confirmed Dorea's pregnancy, they were stunned.

And neither had been able to believe the healers' words until nine months later, when they held a little blond bundle of joy in their arms. They had named him Alden, after one of the Potters alive during the times of Herpo the Foul, someone rumored to have helped bring down the Dark Wizard.

Alden had been a precarious child, often found wandering through the cottage, flipping through books even as a toddler, something which had led to both of them knowing of his Hogwarts House years in advance, so when he had been sorted into Ravenclaw all those years later, it had not surprised him or his lady wife.

The same lady wife who seemed to be chewing out the young blonde over the rather troubling letter she had just received from her own family, a family which had become somewhat less distant ever since Arcturus had become the Head.

"Now, tell me, young man. Why in the seven Hells did I receive such a letter from Arcturus!" she said, her voice cold and sharp, the one she would often take with him over their numerous inconsequential spats over the years. A voice that she had, until this day, never used on her precious little boy.

So, Charlus may be enjoying the ordeal his son may have found himself in a little more than he probably should.

"I am telling you it's a mistake. I will have it all sorted out, just give me a bit of time," he tried to explain, but when she got into such a mood, it was not easy to calm her down.

"A mistake. Do you think one such sends a letter as a mistake," she said as she waved the letter infront of him before she began to read an excerpt from it.

"I would like to invite you to the family gathering on Christmas to discuss a potential union between our families," she finished, and he was surprised by those words as well.

That was nearly a betrothal request, not that he was fond of those things in these times, yet they worked for some families. But still, there is a potential union between Alden and a Black. Well, there could be worse things than that.

"I am telling you it's probably a mistake. A misunderstanding, I will have it cleared up. Just give me some time," he made an excuse, and it seemed that the boy was holding back some information.

However, for boys his age, that was not a big thing.

And then he watched as Dorea paled as she looked at Alden with a horrified expression.

"Gods, you got her pregnant, didn't you? You got her with child, didn't you?" she asked, horrified and gasping as her own head snapped towards her as Alden raised his arms in a placating manner, too shell-shocked to utter anything as Dorea continued animatedly.

"That is why he sent the letter. Gods, that poor girl!" she began, and he nearly spluttered. He wasn't the only one as he watched Alden shake his head vigorously, as he watched Dorea reach for her wand, and he jumped back cautiously and waved his arms animatedly.

"NO! Gods no! Why the hell would you even think that? I am not even seeing any of them!" he explained, and that seemed to make her narrow her eyes as she turned to face him.

"I know you and little Andy are pretty close," and he saw Alden roll his eyes.

"I and Andromeda are just friends, nothing more than that. Plus, she is seeing someone else," he explained. He had met Cygnus's middle daughter a couple of times, and she reminded him of his own lady wife quite a bit, unlike the eldest, who was something entirely different.

Just as his lady wife was about to berate their son once more, he decided that this was enough. He stood up and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"That is enough, Dorea dear," he said soothingly, and just as Alden sighed, he turned to face his son.

"Though that doesn't mean you are off the hook, I want all this sorted out by tonight. Otherwise, I want a full explanation of why we have received such a letter," he said, pointing towards the letter in his wife's hand.

"Ok," Alden replied as he quickly rushed towards the stand and picked up his long coat.

"And where are you going, Alden," Dorea questioned sharply as Alden rushed towards the floo.

"To find out why the hell did you receive that damned letter," he said scathingly as he picked up some floo powder and threw it to the ground.

"Diagon Alley!" he shouted as a green flame erupted around him as he vanished from the floor, leaving him alone with his wife, who sighed as she plopped down into her chair and sat back down as well, skimming over the letter himself.

"That was some damn good acting," he said to his lady wife, who gave him a smile and rolled her eyes.

"It was not all acting," she replied with a smile, and he nodded. Unlike what Alden believed, they weren't as oblivious to his life at Hogwarts as he may believe. Both of them were friends with many of the faculty members and were aware of what went on inside those Halls.

"Still, I was a bit surprised when I got this letter. Perhaps either Poppy was wrong, or there is something else going on here," she said with a narrowed gaze, and he shrugged as he put down the letter.

"I might have an idea of what this is about," he replied, and indeed, he did. There were only three ladies at present with the surname of Black about whom this letter could be about. Cygnus's three daughters

The eldest of whom was already married, the middle one, according to Alden himself, was seeing someone else, and that left only the youngest, Narcissa.

The same Narcissa who was being sought by Abraxus for his son.

"Then tell me," She demanded, and he shook his head.

"I wouldn't want to speculate. Let's wait till the evening and see where this goes," he replied as he finished his tea and stood up, glancing at the clock, motioning for Dorea to do the same.

They were both getting late, and she finished her own breakfast as both of them began to move out of their home, with her asking him.

"What if he did get her pregnant?" she questioned, sounding a bit horrified, and he shrugged.

"Well, you have always wanted a grandchild, haven't you," he said with a raised brow, chuckling as she punched his arm lightly.

"But seriously, I don't think that is the case here."

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