Andromeda
Andromeda Black
7th Year
Slytherin
Prefect, Chaser
Pureblood

I'm a Black.

When I say that, people use one of two responses:
1. Worship the ground I walk on
2. Run
Either way, they're scared of me. They think I'll judge them, that I'll condemn them to social outcasts or kill off every member of their extended family if they do anything to displease me. People call me judgemental, when really, they're the ones judging me.
I'm never given a chance.
Everyone thinks I'm Bellatrix.

I'll admit, Bella can be intimidating. To others, she's downright scary. She's gotten in plenty trouble for hexing people and causing scenes in the Great Hall if any muggleborns accidentally bump into her. She never gets punished though; Slughorn is as scared of her as anyone else, and our intimidating parents don't add much assistance. So, Bella, Cissy and I typically do whatever we want and no one punishes us; or even questions us for that matter. Narcissa and I would probably abuse our power alot more if it weren't for Bellatrix.

Bellatrix goes out of her way to belittle and humiliate everyone and anyone. She has a temper worse than a blast-ended screwt and will lash out at anyone who displeases her. People in Hogwarts or not, no matter what age, race, gender, build, background and house are scared of her and flee when she arrives. The Slytherins bow to her. As the unofficial queen of our house, she did whatever she wanted and controlled her classmates and housemates with a sharp tongue and and unyeilding wand.
That's how things were when Bella was still in school.
She strutted around in her to-tall shoes with her nose in the air, her dark curls flowing, and her wand at her side. She went wherever she wanted, said whatever she wanted, and did whatever she wanted; and no one dared question her in fear of being hexed into oblivion. The only people above her wrath are Narcissa and I. Us, along with our parents, aunts and uncles, are the only people Bellatrix has any respect for. It doesn't matter how pure you claim your blood to be; If you're not a Black, you're not good enough.
Bellatrix lives without rules. And it scares me.

It scares Narcissa too. We have an unspoken understanding, Cissy and I. Neither one of us know what to do with Bellatrix, so we just let her be. We never voice our fears for our out-of-control sister though, you never know who's listening.
And that's the thing about the Black sisters; we never trash talk each other. You'll never catch any of us sister if one happens to be missing from the group. We're extremely loyal to one another, us Blacks. Family comes first.

Unless you're Sirius Black, of course.
But that's another story.

The point is, Cissy and I have witnessed, firsthand what power has done to our big sister. And we're scared to let it happen to us.

My sister Bellatrix was the queen of Slytherin house in her time, she always loved Cissy and I at her side. When she left, naturally, her title was handed down to me. Because the Blacks always rule the Slytherins. When I leave, the crown will go to Narcissa. When she leaves, it'll go to Regulus (since Sirius is a bit of a prat). Why is this the order, you may ask? Because we're the Blacks. Apparently, that makes one royalty in the eyes of my family and house-mates. And I can deal with that. I can be late for any class (except Transfiguration) be caught in the halls after hours, copy homework, go into any Slytherin dorms, and basically do whatever the crap I want. I try not to overdo it though, I saw what happened to Bellatrix. My sister loved to push boundaries. It was the same when we were kids. When mum said "don't touch the stove, it's hot!" Narcissa and I dutifully obeyed. Narcissa, ever loyal and obedient, would stay on the other side of the kitchen. Myself, curious Andromeda, would walk right up to the stove and study it. I'd feel the heat on my young face, get the picture, and not touch it. Bella, however, had to discover the outcome of touching it. She had to test the consequences. Her fingers were burnt many-a-time, but pushing boundaries was a habit my sister never grew out of. As we got older, she forgot feeling stovetops and fireplaces. Bellas new hobby was to see how many rules she could get away with breaking before she was punished. She typically obeyed our parents, but at school, Bellatrix loved discovering yet another school law that she was above. The only people who ever stand up to her were Narcissa, myself, Professor Dumbledore, and Professor McGonagall.

I like McGonagall. She's fair. She dislikes Bella though, that much is clear. You can say she's not to popular within my house, but those idiots probably deserved it.
As soon as Bellatrix left, McGonagall seemed to warm up to me, if that's even possible for such a rigid woman. I know she judges me slightly on my name and my house, but I work hard in Transfiguration, and she respects that. In fact, Transfiguration is the only class I really work hard in.

And that's life at Hogwarts for me, Andromeda Black. People think I, as a Black, control everyone. But in a way, they control me. And it's kinda sad.
I guess it comes from being the little sister of Bellatrix Black. She always decided what us three sisters thought and what we were going to do, always refecting on our families views. And Narcissa and I fell into line behind her and let her take care of it, because that's what Bella did, and it's what she loves. Bella loves power, and it's changing her. It scares me to know that her first source of power was over me and Cissy.
But Bellatrix is gone now, graduated from Hogwarts. yet my housemates who I supposedly rule still have more influence over me than they should. Here's how it works:

When decisions are made, the boys come up with a plan they find suitable, and then present it to me for approval. I usually agree with them, because that's just me. If they were under the reign of Bella, she'd make the plan and they'd obey or die a painful death.
I'm exaggerating.
But you can tell the boys love me more than Bellatrix, because I'm content letting them do the mental labor. I'm usually on board with whatever they do, and they're all happier because of it. I will protest certain parts of their plans though, I'm the only logical mind left in this house. Narcissa tries to please everyone, but I know when something isn't going to work. And my housemates listen to me, because I'm a Black but also because they trust my judgement. So yes, our inner-house government works quite well.