𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕊𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕡

PROLOGUE

"Long story short, it was a bad time
Long story short, I survived"

TW// child abuse

The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black had a varying description depending on who you were asking. Other pureblood families would keep it in their best interests to become at least acquaintances with the family. After all, the members of the House of Black were equal to royalty in some (pureblood) people's eyes. If your views differed from them, then the chance was that there was deep mutual hate between you and some of the family. People who came into the wizarding world unaware that wizards could be so prejudiced—another way to say muggle-borns—would soon find out that they should stay far away from the Black family, or they would be killed.

Their blood hadn't been tainted by a single muggle—unless you counted the members burned off the family tree—and it would stay that way. Parents taught their children hate so that they wouldn't be the miscreants of the family.

However harsh they were with their punishments and words, some members slipped through the cracks of their flawless legacy. They saw through the brainwashing system and broke free from it. This was no easy feat—very few had achieved it so far—yet the rare accomplishment was earned by a select group of people despite the challenge they had to face.

Druella and Cygnus Black had followed every ignorant rule to get where they were today, which included a loveless marriage. Although they didn't seem to care much, their power was more important than love could ever be. This mindset was something that they wanted- no, needed to pass on to their three daughters if they were going to succeed in the eyes of the House of Black.

Bellatrix Black, the oldest, and perhaps the one with the most potential for a future in the House of Black. Not only was she beautiful and clever, but she lived by the words of prejudice taught to her. She preached the message without a second thought because what mother and father dearest say must be correct, after all, they're from the noble House of Black.

Narcissa Black, the youngest, did not have the same strength as her oldest sister. She would never be able to stick up for herself, but perhaps this benefited her parents, as she did not have the guts to say even a word against her parents, even if she so desired. So, she stayed quiet and apparently thoughtless for her own good.

Andromeda Black, the middle child, or in other words, the problem child. There was always something she was doing to tarnish the Black family's reputation, and some of the time it wasn't even her intention. The manners her parents had beaten into her—quite literally beaten as well—never showed up in the situations she needed them, such as important brunches with the extended family.

In order to keep them in check before they attended the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the girls were to be homeschooled by Mrs. Carrow every day. She too believed in blood purity, so she was just the right person for the job.

Be that as it may, Cygnus Black did something he had never done before, and never planned on doing again (that is until they fired her when Narcissa was finally old enough to attend Hogwarts.) He gave her the day off.

By personally overseeing their education for the day, he could change the curriculum to whatever he wanted. Without a single sign of protest, he began to talk about what he thought was important.

"Toujours Pur," the motto rolled off his tongue. "Say it with me."

"Toujours Pur," the room echoed in silence as Cygnus Black scrutinized the children in front of him.

Everyone that met him couldn't decide what was more frightening about him, his size or his ego. Being a tall and muscular man, Cygnus never had a problem getting what he wanted. No one had ever done anything but cower before him, and as a result, his ego was taller than any building in London and did not stop at the clouds.

Bellatrix had said the family motto perfectly, of course, she had. Everything about her was perfect, from her high cheekbones to her charisma, which was her preferred method in getting whatever she wanted handed on a silver platter in front of her.

Andromeda had stumbled over the familiar words slightly, but she had been speaking low enough to the point where Cygnus couldn't hear her. She had once again been able to fly under the radar of her parents, and at the mere age of seven, had lots of practice with it already.

Poor Narcissa—only being the age of five—hadn't quite learned how to perfect her pronunciation. If it wasn't perfect in the House of Black, then it was good for nothing. Of course, she had been speaking loudly, so whereas Andromeda had flown under the radar, Narcissa's attempt at the motto still rang in Cygnus's ears.

"Do you think that's an acceptable way to say Toujours Pur?" He spoke in a quiet, grim tone. He had a rather unpleasant voice, like a sullen person dragging their feet through gravel.

Far too intimate with this scene, Andromeda played with the hem of her bottle green dress. Knowing what happened next was second nature to her, after all, she had been at the receiving end of it plenty of times.

"N-no," Cissy managed to stutter out as their father took a few steps to where she was standing.

Andromeda made eye contact with Bellatrix for a small, reassuring smile. She hoped her sister would always be there to give her one of those, they were enough to give Meda a semi-cheerful mood for a fleeting moment.

She turned to look at Narcissa again, who had tears streaming down her face now, not a good indicator of where things were headed. One of Cygnus Black's top pet peeves was tears.

Bellatrix had taught Andromeda how to "stuff her feelings in," but the same method would just not work for Narcissa. No matter how many times they went over this with her, every time she was yelled at or confronted, she would cry.

Cygnus took his cigar from the ashtray on his desk—the room they occupied was his study—and took a long drag. Just as Andromeda thought things were about to get better, Cygnus blew the smoke into Narcissa's face. When she started to cough, he pressed the lit end of his cigar onto her arm, making another scar appear among the others.

"That's what traitors deserve," Cygnus placed his cigar back on the ashtray and pointed to the tapestry on the wall.

Most residences that the House of Black lived in had the same tapestry that Cygnus pointed his finger at. The Black family tree condensed onto a single wall, making for quite the decoration.

"If you don't keep yourself pure, then you'll get burned off this tapestry!" Cygnus paused for what Andromeda thought was an over-dramatic effect. "It is your duty to fulfill the highest expectation for this family, and if you don't," his eyes shone with dark mirth at the prospect. "Well, I guess we'll cross that bridge if we get to it."

Cygnus strode to the spot on the floor in front of Andromeda. He looked straight into her eyes like he knew something she didn't—which he might've considering he was many years older—and grinned in a way that would frequently haunt Meda's nightmares.

"But we won't have to cross that bridge, will we, Andromeda Black?" The unstable glint in his eye was more evident than ever.

"No, sir," she responded, swallowing thickly.

They did have to cross that bridge, Andromeda made sure of it. Yet, they were all changed people. Bellatrix had gotten too lost in the mania to care about Meda's well-being. Narcissa didn't have the ability to cry anymore. And Andromeda, well, she thought it was long overdue.

...

Song: Long Story Short
By: Taylor Swift

After this there's the Act One intro and then the first chapter (finally) !! I hope you're enjoying this so far!!

teddy xx