DISCLAIMER: I own nothing except the Original Characters that come along in later chapters.

SUMMARY: This is the story of three sisters who loved and needed each other more than words could ever say say. This is the saga of a young girl who was betrayed by someone she trusted, of a young woman who turned to the Dark to escape her pain. This is the history of the woman who became the Dark Lord’s most trusted lieutenant.  This is the story of Bellatrix Black, the girl who wasn’t always evil.

The crackling fire sent light dancing across the room, and shadows falling on the face of the young girl sitting stiffly on a chair, in front of the hearth. Her eyes seemed to be burning brighter than the fire itself, though her hair was as dark as night. The harsh lines and resolute expression on her face seemed strange to be on one so young. The girl was no older than six, but even at that young age she seemed to emanate a strange energy, making others wary of her. The girl’s eyes drifted from the fire, to a light on the small bed in the corner of the room, and the tiny girl who slept there. Her small chest was rising and falling gently, her white blond hair strewn in soft tendrils across her face.

Footsteps approached the room, making their way stealthily down the stone hallway outside the bedroom. Slowly the door creaked open, and an older girl with chestnut brown hair tiptoed into the room. She stopped abruptly when she saw the filled chair in front of the fire.

“Bella,” she hissed, her voice barely above a whisper. “You’re still awake?”

The black haired girl tore her eyes from the dancing flames to respond.

“Yes Andy, I couldn’t fall asleep. I could hear Mum and you fighting downstairs.”

Andy’s face darkened. “Sorry you had to hear that,” She murmured, wincing, although she knew this wasn’t the first argument her little sister had witnessed. Her elders were, in her mind, bigots who considered themselves superior to everyone around them because they were “pureblood” wizards, from a long magical line.

“Why, Andy? Why must you always make them angry?” Bella snapped, her eyes full of hurt and anger.

“Bella, I…” Andy trailed off with a sigh. She knew it was useless to try to explain, her sister would never understand.

Silently, Andy wrapped her arms around her younger sister, pulling her close to her chest. At first Bella remained stiff, her frame seemed to resist the comforting embrace. But after a moment, she seemed to collapse, letting down her defenses, and her tiny body began to convulse with silent tears.

For a moment, silence filled the room, as a communication beyond words passed between the two, the older soothing the younger.

When Bella’s sobs began to subside, she turned her tear stained face upward, her dark eyes meeting the brown of her sister’s.

“Why? Why do you have to go?” She whimpered, her voice barely audible over the crackle of the brightly burning fire.

Andy could only hold Bella’s fierce gaze for a moment, and then glanced away. She studied the ceiling, analyzing every crack in the stone with her eyes, before answering.

“Bella, you know I have to go. Everyone goes when they turn eleven. You’ll be there too, in a few years,” Andy instantly regretted her words, as she seen Bell’s crestfallen face and realized that five years must seem like an eternity to Bella.

“I’ll be back for Christmas and Easter. And you can always send me an owl while I’m there. I’ll tell you everything about Hogwarts; I’ll owl you every week!” She said hurriedly, desperately trying to reassure her sister.

“Every day!” Bella insisted, the beginnings of a smile playing across her lips.

Andy rolled her eyes. “Every other day, and that’s my final offer,” She replied playfully.

“Deal,” Bella said, the smile now firmly in place upon her dark features.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed,” Andy said, her smile not reaching her eyes. She scooped Bella up in her arms, and began carrying Bella to her bed.

Bella gave a squeal of excitement at being carried, before she was laid gently onto the soft mattress of her bed. Bella pulled the sheets over her, leaving only her head uncovered.

Andy sat down on the bed next to Bella, and stroked her hair for a moment.

“Promise me, you’ll take care of Cissy while I’m one,” Andy murmured, her voice serious. “You’ll be the big sister while I’m gone. You’ll have to look out for each other.”

“I promise,” Bella said emphatically, bobbing her head up and down, her dark curls bouncing in the firelight.

“I’ll be back again before you know it!” Andy added, realizing that she was trying to convince herself as much as her sister. “I’ll always be there for you, even if I’m not here. Understand?” She turned away from her sister for a moment to brush away a tear that she didn’t wanted Bella to see.

Bella nodded once more, saying nothing.

“All right, goodnight then,” Andy whispered, kissing her sister gently on her forehead.

Andromeda walked slowly to her own bed in the room the three sisters shared. She hated the thought of leaving Bella here with the horrible people who, regretfully, were their parents. She knew that Bella, even at the age of six, could take care of herself well enough because she was strangely stoic for her age. But still… she felt incredibly guilty as she lay down on her own bed, pulling the sheets around her-more for the comforting embrace they provided than for warmth.

She knew that it wasn’t her at fault for going away to school, but she felt guilty regardless; guilty that part of her was incredibly, ecstatically happy to be leaving here, leaving the hatred and disapproval, that had been much of her life for the last eleven years. Her parents had never been abusive outright, but they weren’t kind people, caring more for wealth than for their own children. Andy had always taken care of her sisters, acting for them as the mother they never truly had. What would happen to them once she was gone? What would happen to Narcissa, only four, who still desperately longed for her parents’ love and approval, something her two older sisters had already learned was futile.

After a few moments, her eyelids finally began to droop. Her fatigue overwhelmed her worries, and the fire in the hearth burned itself out.