Bounded by Destiny ~ A Harry Potter Fanfiction

Darkness Takes Over

It had been nearly ten minutes, and Andromeda was still standing there, her face growing paler every second. The Dark Lord was still looking at her, his skeletal features only frightening her even more. The room only seemed to get darker and colder. Yet her sister had brought her here. And she stood there with Rodolphus, doing nothing. What did Bella want? To bring her on a suicide mission? She shouldn't even have come. She would rather be killed by her parents than be here. But she couldn't stand here forever. She would rather be murdered than live in this moment forever.

Finally, the Dark Lord spoke. "You don't know? Indecisiveness is a huge sign of weakness," said the Dark Lord, an evil glint in his eyes. Andromeda looked around, desperately. What was going to happen? "Answer me!" the Dark Lord shrieked. Andromeda was pretty sure she heard Rodolphus and Bellatrix stifling a laugh. How dare she laugh at me! Andromeda thought. She was on the verge of death. Andromeda knew she was on her own. She bowed to her toes again, putting her hands together and trying to look like she was begging for forgiveness. "Andromeda Black," Andromeda heard, as she slowly looked up. The Dark Lord's eyes looked more menacing than ever. "Duel with me, Andromeda Black." Andromeda looked around, desperately trying to avoid eye contact with the Dark Lord.

"Stupefy!" yelled Andromeda, finally taking up the courage. "That's not up to standards. Try again," the Dark Lord simply blocked the spell, easily. What would happen if she didn't pass the test? Would she just be murdered on the spot? She had no idea. "Stupefy! Reducto! Expelliarmus! Levicorpus! Petrificus Totalus!" Andromeda went for five spells at a time, hoping that at least one of them would work. But none of them did. The Dark Lord blocked all the spells, completely effortlessly. "Nowhere near standards." He folded his arms, looking at Andromeda impatiently, as though she was just there to waste his time.

Andromeda was paler than ever. Andromeda gulped, butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She would be done for soon... Better be murdered first, less to worry about. She stood there, as a few minutes tickled by. Her head was filled with thoughts. What would Narcissa say if she found out that her sister had been murdered in the dead of the night? How would Ted feel if he found out that his wife had died like a coward in front of the invincible Dark Lord? Andromeda ran through what she had done in her life. What had she done? Had she contributed to anything. To her astonishment, the Dark Lord didn't raise his wand. "I shall not murder you, Andromeda, if you shall remain loyal to me. Continue." This was worse than being killed. She would have to remain in the fight, as Bellatrix and Rodolphus stood by the side, watching her as though their duel was an amusing television show. Bellatrix probably wished that she had some popcorn, as the icing on the cake.

"Reducto!" she yelled again. "Expelliarmus! Stupefy!" Nothing happened. The Dark Lord simply blocked the spells. Andromeda gulped, as though she had just swallowed a stone. She had no choice. She would have to use an Unforgivable Curse. She never tried before, but she was going to. "Crucio!" she screamed, shaking the whole room. But nothing happened. She tried again. Nothing.

"Andromeda, you must mean it," said the Dark Lord, slowly. "You must mean to cause pain. You must want to cause pain. To enjoy it. Not up to standards, I'm afraid. But I'm still recruiting you. Make sure to master the Unforgivable Curses or you will pay the price." Andromeda was gasping for air, still extremely pale. What did the Dark Lord mean? There was no way she was going to use an Unforgivable Curse ever again. These curses were so awful, and involved such dark magic... Andromeda shuddered at the thought of having to practice the curses. She might even have ended up in Azkaban with the Dementors if she wasn't careful, which in her opinion, was a fate worse than death.

As Bellatrix disapparated her back to the room, Andromeda questioned, "Bella, why did you bring me here? Why did you want to kill me?" Bellatrix didn't answer. Andromeda went back to her room, and was horrified. Her fate was sealed. She had to either master the Unforgivable Curses, be murdered brutally by the Dark Lord himself, or... She had to run away.

Andromeda didn't sleep that night. She rolled around her bed, pretending to be asleep, but in fact, she was wide awake, and thinking extremely hard. She was plotting her escape. She needed to find Ted. He was all she had to live for. And her unborn daughter. She had to give birth to her no matter what. Andromeda, in the dead of the night, sneaked out of her room, shutting the door behind her quietly. She had packed a small backpack, and that would be it. She would never be seeing home again. She quietly slipped out of the house, and made her way across the Muggle neighbourhood. 12, Grimmauld Place slowly faded away behind her as she continued her long journey. It was pitch black, except for a few street lights. 

Andromeda was determined to find Ted's home. She had only visited him once but she had an idea where he was. She reached a quiet corner before disapparating. She apparated into Ted's front garden, knocking on the door. "Dromeda!" said Ted, as he swung the door open. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I ran away from home, Ted," Andromeda sobbed. "You know what happened? Bella forced me to see the Dark Lord... Messed up in front of him... He said he's going to kill me if I don't master the Unforgivable Curses!" "We'll hide here, Dromeda," Ted simply said, squeezing her hand tightly. "We'll be alright. He warmed her up and invited her into his room. Ted's room was decorated with portraits of famous Muggle artists and some paintings. He had a rather normal-looking desk, but his room was warm and cozy. "Thanks a lot, Ted!" said Andromeda, hugging him. "Our daughter's still thriving, don't worry." "What do you plan to name her, Dromeda?" he asked. "I still haven't thought about it yet," she said, honestly. "Maybe Magnolia? Or Camellia?" "Oh, wonderful!" beamed Ted, as he tucked her into bed. "A few hours before sunrise. Let's get some sleep. I'll have to explain to my father tomorrow morning." "Oh, your father lives here too?" Andromeda asked. Ted nodded. "Yeah. My mom passed away recently, unfortunately. She had been sick for quite a while. She had tuberculosis, I believe. For a long time. She grew more and more frail..." Tears were flooding Ted's eyes. "That's awful," said Andromeda. "I'm sure she's still out there somewhere, keeping an eye on you... By the way, what's tuberculosis?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Ted. "Forgot that you didn't know. It's an illness that only affects Muggles." Ted was wiping off tears that were building up in his eyes. "I'm sorry," said Andromeda, quietly. She was feeling sleepy already. Her eyes slowly closed as she dozed off into a deep slumber.

Andromeda woke up with a jolt. She stretched, rubbing her eyes to get a clearer view. The sun was shining and natural light was projected into the room. She opened the curtains wider as she saw the beautiful views of the city. Ted was still fast asleep, snoring. She shut the door quietly and went downstairs. The stairs was light brown and rather normal-looking. The house was a bit small and old - Andromeda believed it hadn't been repainted in at least 20 years, but it still felt warm and cozy. A short, middle-aged man was in the kitchen. He was toasting bread, the scent filling the room. As Andromeda got closer, he suddenly turned around and jumped. "Oh!" he said. "You startled me." "Oh, sorry," said Andromeda. "I'm Andromeda Black. I believe your son told you about me, right?" The man nodded. "I'm Ted's father, Mr Tonks," he said, with a warm, crinkled smile. He spoke in a rather slow, quiet tone. "You were in the same year as him at Hogwarts, right? And you're pregnant, I believe?" Andromeda nodded. "Yes. Still haven't thought about what to name her."