Author's Note: Welcome to my new story! This one focuses on Andromeda instead. It follows my other story (Behind Closed Doors: Portrait of the Malfoy Family) in many years, and it also precedes it through flashbacks. I know that sounds odd, but just read and find out ;) You don't need to have read the other story to understand this one. I do not own any of the characters, except Lucia, and Zara, which I created in the aforementioned story as well as the story 'Heart's Betrayal'. No clue if this concept will work, but it's in my head so I decided to let it out. Cheers and let me know what you think!

~The Brightest Star~

Prologue

The companions of our childhood always possess a certain power over our minds which hardly any later friend can obtain
-Mary Shelley: Frankenstein

"Faster, Bella, faster!" squealed the four-year old girl on the height of her enthusiasm. The two young sisters held onto each other's hands as they spun around and around, the skirts of their white dresses almost floating about them. Already the white was full of grass stains, their neatly plaited hair coming undone. The speed of their movements was heightened by a spark of magic presenting itself to them. To the oblivious spectator they might be floating in mid-air. "Make us fly!"

"I can't go any faster!"

The sisters laughed in unison as they felt the magic take hold of them, lifting their bare feet off the grass until they were almost like a whirlwind. It lasted for as long as they held onto each other; unchanneled magic combining its forces.

"Bellatrix! Andromeda! Get in here NOW!"

"It's auntie," gasped Andie, letting go of her sister's hands in her shock. The magic disappeared as they broke apart, each girl landing on the grass with a thud that was lighter than physically plausible.

At four and five years old, the sisters were highly impressed with their aunt Walburga's dark figure towering over them. The only thing likeable about the stout and tall woman in the girls' eyes was her son; their cousin Sirius.

"What took you so long?" Walburga snapped once they came running towards the house. She took each of them by the hand to pull them inside. "And look at the state of you both! What will your mother think of you little wildlings?! Where are your shoes?!"

Bellatrix and Andromeda knew better than to go against their aunt's rage and briefly allowed her to comment on every failure in their appearance. They were impatient, though, and Bella could not stop herself from shifting her weight from one foot to the other, biting her lip to suppress the fire of questions. As young as she was at the age of five, she had learned enough to know interrupting the adults never ended well.

"Yes, Bellatrix?"Walburga finally acknowledged her niece when she was done readjusting the ribbons in the girls' hair and had given up on her attempt to straighten their dresses.

"Has mother had the baby?" The girls squeezed each other's hand in their excitement.
Their aunt watched the pair of them with her notorious frown, letting the anticipation rise.

"Yes," she finally said. "You have another sister."

The girls squealed in delight at this news that made up for the dislike of their aunt. They had known for a while there was a chance they were going to be big sisters, and they took the job most seriously. They had not been sure, because there had been other babies before. Two little boys that had lived only very shortly. One for a few weeks, until the Dragon Pox epidemic got hold of him. The other had lived only for two days, too weak to survive after a premature birth. Their parents, Cygnus and Druella Black, never discussed these dramatic occurrences with their daughters. The girls, however, were both equipped with an insatiable curiosity. They didn't fail to listen at doors or interrogate a house elf to find out things about 'adult topics' that their parents thought unsuitable for them to hear.

Impressed by such grand news, they asked no further questions and followed their aunt up the stairs.

"Your mother must have the worst of luck," Walburga said, shaking her head as they neared their mother's bedchamber. "Another girl." Her words were muttered more to herself, for Bellatrix and Andromeda were too busy delighting in the prospect of seeing their new sister.

"Now remember girls," they were stopped at the door. "Be very quiet and don't tire your mother. She'll need to rest soon, so you can only stay a few minutes. Do not whine, argue or even speak at all. If we had more time I would have seen to you dressing up more appropriately, but this will have to do."

Walburga used a summoning charm to fetch their shoes. They impatiently put them on, which lead to the door finally being opened.

Eyes widened with anticipation, Andromeda and Bellatrix entered the room.

While little Andie hurried over to their mother on the bed, Bella went straight to the cradle. Like everything in the Manor, it had been in the family for ages. Bella thought it ugly with its frilly lace, and it was uncomfortably high. Standing on tiptoe, she was just able to see the baby. Not that there was much to be seen. The pink little creature was wrapped in a blanket so snugly only a small part of her face was visible.

As excited as the girls were, as gloomy was their mother. Druella stared ahead, seeming oblivious to the entrance of her daughters. She didn't even respond to Andromeda pulling on her hand for attention. It was a stark contrast to what she was normally like; a proud lady perfectly representing the ancient Wizarding family.

"Mother?" Andie asked hopefully.

"Your mother is in pain." Cygnus Black, the girls' father, interfered by taking Andie to join her older sister at the cradle. "Let's leave her be."

His words did not drown out his wife's, though. Both Andie and Bella's eyes were on her as she kept muttering silently. "All for nothing."

Attempting to distract them, Cygnus lifted both girls up, one on each arm, and allowed them to get a better look at their newborn sister. Both Bella and Andie had always been fond of their father. As stern as he could be, in general they enjoyed the quiet authority he expressed much more than their mother's more obviously dominant way of dealing with them.

"What do you think of your new sister? We've named her Narcissa."

"That's a funny name. She's wrinkly!" said Bella as they got a good glimpse of the baby.

"She needs some time to adjust to being in the world," Cygnus explained, setting his daughters back down on the floor. "When she's grown you'll be able to play with her and teach her everything you already know. Won't that be fun?"

"She doesn't look like my dolls at all," Andie commented, sounding slightly disappointed. She had anticipated their new sister to be like a living doll that they could play with right away. "Is Narcissa a star?" She struggled with the pronunciation of her new sister's name. Both she and Bella were named after constellations, just as about every member of the House of Black.

"No," Cygnus admitted. "She's named after a flower. A very beautiful flower."

After these briefest of introductions it was not long before their aunt came to fetch them again. Neither of them wanted to go. As uninteresting as the baby seemed at this point, they didn't want to miss any part of her either.

Long after they were supposed to be asleep and the lights were off, Andie was still staring at the ceiling. In her arms she held her two favourite cuddle toys: a miniature hippogriff and a unicorn. Her mind was so full of today's occurrences she couldn't stop her thoughts long enough to fall asleep.

She sat up when hearing the slight creak of the door. "Bella?"

"Move over," her sister announced her presence, hopping onto her sister's bed: a four-posted bed much too large for a girl of four.

The girls often sought each other's company at night; inseparable as ever. Being only eleven months apart, they grew up like twins. Strangers always thought they were twins. They were of the same height and had the same curly black hair. Even in character they were rather similar. Every day to them held new adventures. Living in a Victorian old manor was a perfect playground to children. Possibilities were endless. They never grew bored of playing hide and seek with their cousin Sirius.

"Do you like the new baby?" Andie couldn't resist cuddling up to her sister. Five seemed a very mature age when you were only four, and Bella always seemed to have all the answers.

"I guess so," Bella yawned, taking the hippogriff from her sister.

"And why was Mother so sad? Doesn't –she- like the baby? "

Bella rolled her eyes; such questions were obvious to her, and only asked by ignorant little sisters that knew next to nothing.

"It's because the baby's not a boy," Bella explained with exaggerated pretended patience. "They need a boy because girls can't be the heir, you see."

"Oh." Andie sucked her thumb and said nothing more, understanding very little of it. The word 'heir' was mentioned frequently, yet to her remained as abstract as ever. She didn't want to give her sister the impression that she was silly, though, so she didn't ask for clarification.

"She can be one of us, right?" she asked after a while.

"Yea," Bella murmured, already half asleep, clutching the toy hippogriff to her chest as she embraced it fondly. "She could be."

There was something magical about a set of three sisters. Magical elements combining forces in three parts, like the Deathly Hallows. Even years later, while all was changed, Andromeda remembered the magical bond she had shared with both Narcissa –and- Bellatrix. It was easier to leave out the latter and pretend they had always been opposites hating each other. The truth was more painful yet.

The older she got, the more she thought back to her childhood. Those early, happy days when they were too little to understand the true meaning of what their parents continuously referred to as 'Pureblood supremacy'. When they spent their days running about the estate chasing each other, sometimes joined by the beginnings of their magical powers expressing themselves. At first it was always just her and Bella, often joined by Sirius. Later on Cissy had joined them, and then Regulus: the youngest of the set. Who would have thought she and Cissy would survive the lot? Everyone had expected great things from Bella and Sirius, both possessing the passionate tempers so characteristic for the House of Black. Especially Cissy and Regulus, or 'Reggie' as they called him in those days, had been much more gentle-natured.

Footsteps hurrying down the stairs stirred her from her thoughts.

"Gran, are you coming?" said Teddy as he entered the kitchen. "What are you doing down here?"

At thirteen, her grandson was tall and lanky as teenage boys could get. Ever since the death of his parents, he had been the very core of Andromeda's existence. She often thought it too great a responsibility for a boy, to be one's everything. Luckily he made his way through life quite smoothly so far. He had good friends, among them his second cousin Zara Potter, and he was a clever boy that did well in school. Quite like his parents. He looked like both of them. He had inherited his status as a Metamorphmagus from his mother, and sometimes the resemblance to Dora was so great it was painful. If only she would be able to see him now. And Ted. How proud he would be of his namesake! While the sharpest edges of the loss left Andromeda after a few years, sometimes she thought she only missed them more with every passing day. There was always so much news to tell them; so much they were missing out on.

"I'm just being silly," Andromeda smiled and closed the photo album she had been skimming through. "We should hurry, or you'll miss the Hogwarts Express. I had no idea it was this late. Have you got your trunk and everything?"

While they went to the hallway and double checked all of Teddy's luggage, they went on their way to King's Cross station. Teddy was about to start his third year at Hogwarts. Full of enthusiasm he rushed over to greet his friends on Platform 9 ¾.

As always the platform was crowded with many familiar Wizarding families. Zara had brought her parents, Harry and Lucia, and her little sister. More than a few Weasleys could also be spotted: Arthur and Molly's ever expanding number of grandchildren represented them well.

"Hello there," Andie made her way over to the Potter family. "Ready to say goodbyes?"

"'Ready' is a big word for it," said Lucia, who looked like she was struggling. "They always fly by, these summer holidays." She held an eight-year old girl by the hand while her other held onto a cage containing Zara's owl. "We were barely on time. Harry got the news just morning. Another promotion at the Auror office!" she beamed proudly at her husband.

"Goodness, Harry!" Andie expressed her delight at the news. "Congratulations! A year or two and you'll be Head of the Auror department."

"Thanks," beamed Harry. "It was great to hear the official decision."

Further details were postponed as the children came running again, eager to be reunited with all of their school friends.

"We should get on the train, it's almost time," Zara announced, kissing her parents and, somewhat reluctantly, her little sister.

"Yes." Andie briefly embraced her grandson and held him at arm's length. "Be a good boy, all right? Write your old grandmother now and then, if you can spare a moment," she grinned at the joke. The phrase 'old grandmother' called an image to mind not at all befitting to describe her.

"Yes, once or twice a year right?" Teddy grinned and kissed both his grandmother's cheeks before he hurriedly followed his friends boarding the Hogwarts Express.

Andie stayed behind with the Potters. She was glad to see Teddy's light mood. It used to be her most pressing concern, that she should bother him with her heavy grief. He had always been a cheerful child, though, encouraging her to lighten up her spirits. Caring for him had been her most effective therapy.

"What do you think, auntie?" said Lucia when the train had disappeared from sight and they stopped waving. "Joining us for dinner, to celebrate Harry's promotion? Draco's coming over too, with Ginny and the boys. Felicia made the fruit salad." She laid her hands on her other daughter's shoulders to hold her close, diverting her from Zara's departure.

"Why not," Andie smiled at the little girl that nodded proudly of her culinary skills. "I can't say no to a decent fruit salad. Certainly not when it comes with a decent wine." She laughed as she linked her arm through her niece's to leave the platform together. Come to think of it, it wasn't very long until the Christmas holidays.