Symphony | Andromeda Black

Christmas Holidays

Christmas was fast approaching, and Andromeda was far happier at school. She had a friend now, which was the best thing in the world as far as she was concerned. She sat with Glenda in every class they had together, and it was easy to laugh at the other girls' sneers when she had a friend. It was only on the last week of school that Glenda asked Andromeda what she wanted for Christmas.

"We don't really get Christmas presents," she told her truthfully. "Father Christmas is a muggle tradition anyway."

Glenda's mouth was open in a wide o. "You don't get presents? Ever?"

"Not really," Andromeda shrugged. "At birthdays Narcissa and I usually give each other gifts, but we never get anything at Christmas. It's quite boring, really, it's just another dinner party."

Glenda nibbled her lip. "I'm sure you could come to stay at my house for Christmas," she offered. "If you wanted to."

Andromeda was taken aback by this, and despite herself she found she wanted to. Glenda's family sounded like the kind of family in children's books. But then she thought of Narcissa, and the fact that in her letters she was always asking what date her Christmas holidays began, and she shook her head.

"Thank you for the offer, but I've got to go home."

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When she and Bellatrix came through the big heavy doors of the house, everything seemed unfamiliar and strange all at once. Andromeda had never noticed how cold it was before. The dark panelled walls and stone floor of the hallway were unwelcoming, and unlike Hogwarts there were no cheerfully burning fires and torches, no decorative hangings on the walls.

Narcissa plied her with twenty thousand questions, namely what the food was like at Hogwarts, what subjects she was doing, what the dormitories were like. Her hair was growing long again, past her shoulders now, and it was scraped back into tight plaits. They never wore their hair loose at home. Druella said it was common.

"Have you made any friends yet?" Her mother asked her.

Andromeda gave a casual shrug, remembering Bellatrix spinning tall tales for their mother in her first year. "Not really. The other Slytherin girls are nice though."

Bellatrix looked up sharply.

"Not really! You liar, who's the Hufflepuff you always sit with at meals?"

"Hufflepuff?" Their mother repeated, suddenly alert. "Andromeda?"

Andromeda shrugged uncomfortably. "Glenda."

"Glenda who?" She said suspiciously. "Is she pureblood?"

"Yes. Glenda Viljoen."

"Oh she's foreign," she said, relaxing.

"She isn't. Well, maybe her parents are. I don't know."

"Be careful they're not blood traitors. Hufflepuff is a bad sign. Your father will have to check."

She peered at her. "Did she give you that bracelet?"

"Yes."

Druella took her arm and looked at it. "It's real silver," she said, in something that sounded like surprise. "It's not that tacky plastic rubbish."

Narcissa bit her lip. "Is Glenda your best friend, Andy?"

"Well," she said, but couldn't stop her excitement. "Yes. We have fun together. We started talking because we were both put outside Professor Welle's class. You'd like her, Cissy, she's ever so nice and funny."