Andromeda got good results in both her February and summer tests, but to her they were still not good enough, and when she showed her father her summer report, he agreed. He pored over it in his study, glasses perched on the edge of his nose.
"But you always get an outstanding in Potions, Andromeda. What went wrong here?"
"I don't know," she said, not wanting to admit that she'd cracked under pressure and been unable to finish.
"Well, you must try harder."
He checked Bellatrix's too, but he didn't have much expectations. Bellatrix's marks were always average, though she usually got good ones in Defence Against The Dark Arts, because she was good at curses and jinxes. He didn't mind so much when she got bad marks, but Andromeda wanted to make him proud of her so badly she thought she'd burst.
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Glenda had been talking about inviting Andromeda to her house, but Andromeda didn't think it was serious, not until two letters came, one for her and one for her mother, though they both went straight to Druella.
Dear Andy
Mum says you can come to dinner on Friday if your mum says yes to her letter and I hope hope hope she does!
Love from Glenda.
Druella called in into the dining room as she folded the letters up, and Andromeda trailed in obediently. "That was from your friend Glenda's mother," she said, and she smoothed the parchment. "She wants to know if you could come to play with Glenda on Friday."
Andromeda's insides fizzed. "Can I, Mother?" She asked, almost holding her breath, because Bellatrix was always complaining that she wasn't allowed to go anywhere. "Yes," Druella said, and she relaxed. "Yes, I don't see why not. Your father says they have a lot of praise for Mr Viljoen in the ministry. He was very high up in the African Ministry for Magic. But you must remember your manners. Don't bite your nails, stand up straight, keep your mouth closed. I don't want them thinking we're common."
Andromeda hardly heard her because her heart was so light. She was going to play in Glenda's house!
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The Viljoen house was in the country. It was large and well kept, with pretty flowers in boxes on the windowsill. It had a big front garden, which was full of toys and bicycles, which Andromeda peered at with interest. She had never seen one in real life before.
When the house elf disapparated, Andromeda took a breath and knocked on the door.
It wasn't opened by a house elf as she expected, but by a woman who could only have been Glenda's mother. She was a beautiful dark skinned lady in a floaty dress and hair like her daughter's, and the very first thing she did was give her a hug. Andromeda stiffened in surprise, because she very rarely hugged people, and even then it was usually only Narcissa.
She wore a musky perfume that made Andromeda's nose tickle, and when she pulled back from the hug, various items of jewellery jingled. Andromeda stared at her in shock. She didn't think mothers could have pierced noses. She imagined her own mother's reaction. Druella wouldn't even let her daughters get their ears pierced, because she said piercings were common. Glenda's mother didn't look common. She looked amazing.
"Didn't your mother come?" She asked Andromeda in a soft accent.
Andromeda was so unused to accents other than English that she blinked. "Um. No."
"Oh well, we must chat later. It's nice to finally meet you. Glenda always talks about you. Speaking of...."
There were footsteps on the stairs and Glenda raced down. She'd had her hair done, so the colour was now red, and her bracelets jangled on her wrist. "Hey Andy, let's go upstairs to play."
She paused. "Where's your bracelet?"
"Oh," Andromeda rubbed her neck. "Mother took it to keep it safe."
It was a tiny fib. Druella had said she looked like a gypsy with so much jewellery. She'd only been allowed to wear her ring.
"Oh okay. When's dinner, Mum?"
She talked to her mother so casually that Andromeda blinked, but her mother only smiled as she shut the door.
"In about an hour. You girls play."
Andromeda followed Glenda up the stairs to an open door.
"It's a bit messy," she said apologetically. "Especially because I have to share with Ama, and anyway we were playing forts."
Andromeda blinked as they entered. It was quite probably the most untidy bedroom she'd ever been in. Toys and games were scattered across the floor, and books were arranged in stacks and arches to simulate forts.
She found her voice eventually. "Don't your house elves clean your bedroom?"
"Oh no, we don't have any. Dad doesn't like the way they're treated."
This was absolutely alien. Andromeda didn't think she had ever been anywhere that didn't have house elves. And there were so many things. Her own bedroom was empty of everything but the base necessities. But Glenda and Ama had posters, books, clothes tossed untidily on chairs, and toys upon toys......
Glenda's little sister was kneeling by the window building more forts. She knew Ama was five, and she had the same hair as her sister and mother, but it was shorter.
"D'you want to play dolls?"
Andromeda put her hand over her mouth when she saw the state of the dolls, whose hair was all hacked, their plastic skin covered in marker. "Wasn't your mother angry?"
"Of course not," Glenda said, sounding puzzled. "Why, would yours be?"
"They don't like when we disrespect gifts. Father caned Narcissa when she drew in her school books."
The two girls stared at her. Ama's thumb had left her mouth, and Glenda's was in a big o.
"Your father canes you?"
"Well, yes," she said, suddenly uncomfortable as she always was when Glenda looked at her like that. "Because we have to learn."
"But doesn't it hurt?"
"The pain is a lesson not to do it again. Don't your parents cane you?"
"No," Glenda said, like the very idea was absurd. She looked suddenly uncomfortable. "Of course not."
Andromeda blushed and quickly changed the subject. They played dolls, and Glenda rolled her eyes when Ama started to play too.
Andromeda rolled her eyes too, but she was secretly glad, because it meant Glenda wouldn't ask any more questions about caning.
When they were bored of the dolls, Glenda took out nail polish, but then her brother came in wondering what they were doing. He was seven, and his name was Mikey.
Glenda asked him if he wanted her to paint his nails.
"You don't paint boy's nails!" Andromeda was scandalised.
She shrugged. "Why not?"
"Because – because boys aren't supposed to wear it. Won't your parents be angry?"
"No. We even do Dad's sometimes. Put your hands flat," she commanded, and Mikey did as he was told.
"I'll do one of your hands and Andy can do the other one. Ama can do your toes."
He was happy to go along with it. "I want red," he told Andromeda, so she uncapped the bottle of red and painted along his nails. This household, she thought privately, was the most bizarre one she'd ever been in.
"Wait til we eat," Glenda told her as she carefully painted Mikey's little nails. "Mum cooks the best food in the world."
Andromeda knew better at this point than to convey her surprise. In her world, the house elves did the cooking. She'd never seen Druella make so much as toast.
She was faced with more surprises when they went down to eat, because they all sat at the same table and Glenda's father welcomed her warmly. When she saw him noticing Mikey's nails she worried he would be angry, but he just laughed.
The food was some of the best she'd ever tasted, different and exotic to the plain English food she was used to. She turned to Glenda, and mouthed over the table, "Your mother is amazing."
"I know," Glenda mouthed back.