a. black

Though she wasn’t the type to dwell on things, preferring instead to focus on living, Addison’s disappearance had been troubling Marlene. She hadn’t exactly been close to the girl, but she had known her well enough to be confident that it wasn’t in the other girl’s nature to just run away. Whatever had happened, there was someone else involved, and the fact that they had been so bold as to go after the Minister’s daughter… Well, that was just further proof of how much their world was changing, and how quickly. Right now though, it seemed there was nothing that they could do except wait for news, and so Marlene was focusing her energy on her classes and her new role as Quidditch Captain. 

She had just been going over some new ideas for some plays when she became aware of someone talking to her and looked up. “Sorry, I was trying to figure something out. What were you saying?”

Andromeda had been walking the halls post-schoolwork session, looking for something to do. The academics hadn’t been getting too heavy yet, Quidditch had hardly begun practices, and the general air around the school was a bit upsetting ever since Addison Sage had gone missing. Everything felt a bit off at the moment, and all the Slytherin wanted to do was get back to busy, normal school life. In her wandering, she spotted Marlene McKinnon, freshly-minted Gryffindor Quidditch captain. Andromeda headed over, offering a fair amount of congratulations before she even noticed the girl hadn’t been listening. “Oh, right. I was just saying congratulations! For getting captain. You must be excited.”

“So, that’s when I said, ‘You couldn’t handle my undivided attention’ and you know, surprisingly, Minnie was not of fan of that,” Sirius shrugged, reaching for the detention slip and shoving it back into his pocket.

“I’m shocked that poor woman hasn’t gone off the deep end because of you and your lot yet.” Andy shook her head, “Have you set a school record for detentions yet? I imagine there’s a set detention schedule specifically for you, by now.”

“Quite possibly,” Bellatrix chuckled at her sister’s comment. “It seems more like they’ve decorated for a Quidditch victory party than a normal party. Then again,” she added, a slight smirk on her lips. “They probably won’t have many opportunities for that kind of party.” If she was honest, Bellatrix knew that the Gryffindor team was good, but she was hardly about to admit that out loud, especially when she played for her own House’s team. “One question at a time, Andy,” she laughed, shaking her head fondly. “I’ve not had too bad an evening so far, how about you? And yes, a drink does sound good.” 

“Aw, you’re right. They’ve got to at least pretend they’ve got a winning team while they still can, yeah?” She chuckled at her sister’s comments. Of course, they probably did have a winning team, but there wasn’t proof of that until the Quidditch season began. “Sorry!” It was a bad habit of hers, rattling on and asking question upon question without waiting for an answer. In her defense, she just always felt like she had a lot to say, and this time she’d already had a drink or two in her system. “Oh, good! I didn’t think you’d come, to be perfectly honest. But I’m glad you’re here.” Andy smiled, “I’ve been having fun! Mingling is always a good time. Lovely, come with me, I found a table with plenty of drinks to mix - I can make you the Andromeda Special.”

Regulus had only glanced up at his cousin for a second before diving into the articule again, having to make sure he didn’t miss any important details about it, but alas, it was just about as vague as it could’ve been. He wasn’t so intrigued by the news because he was empathising so much with the Minister, no. There was just a tiny sparkle in the back of his head, something that he didn’t know exactly what it could be yet, but it definitely caught his attention. He would have to keep following the updates of it. Regulus finally looked up with a smile as a greeting to Andromeda, grabbing a toast and biting down on it empty and dry as it was while listening to her. “Well… not everyone knows who she is. I don’t know her much. There might be some scandal in the background. Politics. Muggle kidnappers. Opposition kidnappers. Family disputes. Maybe they’ll even write a book about her! That is, if she ends up dead.” He paused, swallowing what he was chewing on. “Not that I want her to. It’d just make for a good story. She could’ve also run away because of love, y’know. Wouldn’t be the first one to do it!”

“Kidnappers? That’d be dramatic. And admittedly a bit exciting, if it isn’t too taboo to say right now, though I honestly do hope it’s nothing of the sort.” Andy raised her brows, her finger twirling as she magically stirred the spoon in her coffee. “Aw, Reg, that’s an awful thing to say.” She chided her cousin, as if she hadn’t just said that it would be exciting if the poor girl had been kidnapped. Sipping her coffee, she thought about the last thing he had said. That would be the best-case scenario, she imagined, Addison off on some romantic getaway with someone her family didn’t approve of. At least nobody undeserving (as far as Andromeda cared) would be hurt in that situation. “Oh, imagine that scandal - the minister’s daughter of all people! Can’t imagine why she’d run away for love, though; from what I can tell the minister seems to be a pretty tolerant person. Dunno what all goes on behind closed doors, I suppose.”

Black robes flowed over the equally as black shoes as they stomped down the floors of the great hall, eyes glancing to the side every once in a while as Regulus’ ears quickly caught up to the general topic around the tables at lunch. Something was wrong. There was a tension in the hall, mouths focusing on speaking instead of being stuffed with sandwiches or candy. He was already quite late, lessons starting in about 20 minutes, but he wasn’t too hungry anyway. Regulus was on his way to his usual spot at the Slytherin table by the wall when with a swift sweep of his arm, he snatched a copy of the Daily Prophet out of a third year Ravenclaw’s hands. It wasn’t like they were doing anything useful with it anyway. As he finally took a seat with a mumble that sounded like a “Afternoon–” to his peers around him, Regulus grabbed a pear from a plate full of fruit to chew on as he set the paper on the table. His eyes rolled, making a face as he saw that the paper was open on the page of Tricks & Trucks, quickly making sure to turn over to the Bad News segment. After all, there were times that what the general public of witches and wizards thought to be bad news, were actually quite good ones to him. That was when it’d all made sense. “Sage’s gone?” He leaned in some more after exclaiming and making other students around him look up to the familiar name, squinting slightly to make sure whether he was reading it right. It wasn’t like he knew Addison personally, but it was something that hadn’t happened before. Not with a Hogwarts student. “Have you heard about this?” 

With a barely-touched plate of food in front of her, Andromeda eyed the paper Regulus was holding. “Unfortunately.”  The news was all anyone was talking about. Around the table at breakfast, in the halls before breakfast, even in the kitchens Andromeda had heard the elves muttering about it while they went about preparing meals. A missing student wasn’t exactly common at Hogwarts, particularly when said student was the daughter of the minister, and it had certainly created a lot of excitement to kick off the new school year. She hadn’t known the girl particularly well, but being in the same year they had shared their fair amount of classes through the years. “Everyone’s said she’s just run away, and I’d hope so, honestly, but I dunno. What good would running away do for Addison? Everyone knows who she is, anyway, she’d be caught by next Tuesday.”

“It was fun, honestly.” Peter offered a chuckle at the questions, head shaking just a bit. “I wouldn’t say that I was good persay, but I did manage not to wreck the thing. I’ll have a few more lessons over winter break.” A pause, and then he glanced her way again, smirk growing ever wider as she pressed on with the joke. “Oh, I suppose that makes sense. Do be sure to let me know what you find out, though. anything to help my already glowing complexion.” And then, with another chuckle, he added, “In all seriousness, how was your summer, Miss Black?”

“I can’t believe you get to drive a car. Is it- What do you fully mean by wreck it? I imagine they’re pretty sturdy, seeing how they’re absolutely massive. But what happens if you drive it into a wall or something?” It was probably a silly question, but the most experience she had with wrecking anything was crashing a broomstick every once in a while, and that was hardly ever a dilemma. She didn’t know how Muggle things worked, but she wanted to know, and she found no shame in any dumb question that might come with that. “It was a summer, all right.” She didn’t particularly enjoy her summer, but Peter Pettigrew certainly didn’t care about the details. “Just excited to be on our way back.”

Despite wanting wild adventures in her own life someday, Helena never wanted anything but the status quo at her parents house. It hardly felt like home anymore, in truth in never really had, but she knew how to navigate it. No news was always good news when it came to her parents, and she knew that was a fairly common feeling among her peers. “Oh absolutely. It’s awful, but I get it, and you can’t beat yourself up over it,” she comforted. When Helena was a child, she’d once tried to free all the house elves in her manor. The consequences for her actions had been enough to scare from ever doing something of that nature again. A sarcastic smile curled onto her lips as she answered, “Isn’t just splendid?” before continuing in a much softer tone, “Of course I will.” Shaking her head, Helena knew that she had no intentions to marry anyone her parents set her up with, but she would play along for as long as was necessary. “Evan’s livid. He thought they’d wait until they got him sorted out before looking for me, but as the girl, it’s apparently more important that I’m sold off” she murmured. Nodding her head, she gave a small grin, “Thanks for that reassurance. I do well in my regular exams, so long as I keep my wits about me, I should be fine” she mused. “Are you excited to have a mellow year before N.E.W.T.s?” she asked.  

Helena’s presence always comforted Andromeda, and so it was no surprise that the girl’s words made her feel a bit better. She gave her a thankful smile, before returning to the more pressing matter. “Good. Because if they try and set you up with anyone less than absolutely perfect for you, I’ll find a way to call it off. Tell my parents his uncle is a squib and so they must run in the family, something of the sort.” Her tone was light, but Andy was incredibly serious. She knew the power her family had within their circles, and was more than willing to use it for Helena. “Oh, poor Evan. They’ll set him up with someone eventually. Who knows, maybe I’ll be your new sister one day!” she batted her eyelashes at Helena, fully teasing - although even the idea of being set up with Evan was, to be perfectly honest, a bit dreadful. “You have no idea. Though it’s starting to sink in that I’ve only got two years left before school’s over. Nearing the end feels odd.” 

“No travel, my mother was busy with work most of the time. My uncle Calvin did teach me the wonders of driving a car. Though, I’m not sure the man should be behind the wheel of a car, either.” Offering a soft, almost startled chuckle, he glanced down at the girl with a lifted eyebrow, surprised and somewhat delighted by her joking little throw away answer. “Oh? Does it have to be a specific type of blood or will any do? I’m always on the lookout for a new skin routine.”

“Driving a car? How was that? Were you any good?” Her eyebrows lifted in surprise - and envy. Cars were one of the more exciting Muggle items Andromeda knew about, but she doubted the opportunity to drive one herself would ever arise; the only wizards she knew of who readily had access to cars worked with the Ministry. “Oh, any blood will do, really... Though I imagine virgin’s is preferred. I’ll have to ask mother and father.”

Peter considered the question for a moment before he let out a soft chuckle. “It was certainly interesting. Lot of new experiences.” Though he had absolutely no intention of sharing those experiences with someone like Andromeda Black. He simply laughed it off before turning the question back around on her with a grin. “How about you? Did you attend all of the high society parties and drink tea with your pinky out? That’s how I imagine rich people tend to be outside of the castle.”

“Sounds lovely. Did you travel?” An honest question. She rarely traveled herself, but she did enjoy hearing tales of others seeing the world. “You’ve hit the nail on the head, there.” Andromeda shrugged. She was certain he didn’t actually care, and she didn’t want to bother correcting him if he would just continue to mock her. She jokingly added, “Though we all actually drink blood when we gather, not tea. It’s good for your skin.” 

Winking he answered, “You’re eternally grateful” his voice just on the line between teasing and pure arrogance. Huffing he quipped, “You couldn’t handle it if we pulled out all the stops”. It was comforting being able to banter with his peers again.This was something he missed during the summer. Not having siblings of his own, he had to rely on his friends being available and given that they all had busy lives too, it left James with severe boredom for three months out of the year. It was nice to get back to this semblance of normalcy. His eyes lit up immediately as he answered, “Absolutely. That sounds like the perfect way to celebrate being back to Hogwarts. I could use it too, but if you tell anyone that, I will deny it whole heartedly”.

“Oh, eternally - absolutely. I imagine in the afterlife I’ll still be singing your praises.” She laughed, certain that he wasn’t even fully joking. The boy was notorious for his hubris, after all, but Andromeda found it amusing more than anything. “Great!” her grin was genuine, she hadn’t fully known if James would agree to play with her, but she was glad he did, “Don’t worry, wouldn’t dream of it. Can’t have anyone thinking I only beat you because you’re rusty, can I? What d’you say about next Saturday?”

Grinning, she shook her head, “Well there’s that too” she admitted. Helena was fairly tall, but it had never really bothered her much. “Uneventful is probably good. It’s never a good sign when things start getting chaotic in our world. Oh Merlin, I’d feel awful to, but if your family is like mine, they change them out so often it’s hard to keep track,” she sighed. It was hard to ask about family when she knew just how difficult it could be to talk about. Shrugging, Helena gave a hum, “It’s been fine. The only new thing is that my parents are actively looking at suitors now, so that’s going to be fun” she told the older girl, sarcasm dripping off her tongue. She knew if she could talk to anyone openly about what she was going through, it was Andromeda. They knew when not to pry and how to listen with empathy. A bright grin formed on her lips as she nodded, “I am too, despite the fact that I do have to study for O.W.L.s,” she confessed, “though I’ll admit I am a bit stressed already.”

Andromeda nodded, “Uneventful is definitely good. Yeah... It must be something like Punic, or Rodder, but they’re just so hard to remember. Still feels bad.” The Black family and their house elves had a very rocky relationship (thank you, Great-Aunt Elladora), but that wasn’t something she’d bring up to anyone but her direct family, no matter how much she liked them. The mention of potential suitors nearly made her wince; it was something they all had to deal with eventually. “Oh, good. You’ll let me know any time a name is brought up?” Though basically unavoidable, Andromeda wanted to make sure Helena wasn’t stuck with somebody horrendous. She deserved that. Andromeda was lucky her parents hadn’t found anyone for her yet - Bellatrix was the priority as the oldest, but as soon as they found someone to marry her off to, Andy was next. “You’ll be absolutely fine! They’re nothing more than glorified regular exams. You’ve got it.” And she fully believed that. Helena was more than capable of handling her fifth year. 

“I would argue that all women are angels, Andromeda. But that probably has a lot to do with being raised by and looking up to a single mother who was the absolute ideal of femininity in my eyes.” Peter offered a bit of a shrug of his shoulders, offering out his arm for the girl as she gestured for him to lead on. “I would be remiss if I didn’t offer my arm to the lady. Make sure that you don’t have any more unfortunate run-ins, Angel.”

“I could name many who aren’t, but that’s still sweet of you.” She looked him over once more before deciding to take his arm. “Wow - you truly are a gentleman, aren’t you?” Then, because she wanted to move on from the weird tension (that came from nowhere, in her opinion - sure, she walked into him and is now making him buy her a new drink but we all make mistakes!) and she couldn’t stand the idea of potential silence while walking with someone, “Did you at least enjoy your summer holiday?”  

It was fairly easy to navigate the platform to the young Hufflepuff. Despite her notorious last name. Helena tended to slip past people with ease. It wasn’t that she was forgettable, exactly, she just knew how to fly under the radar. Once her and Evan had made it to the platform, they’d parted ways to catch up with their respective friends. She was infinitely grateful that her parents just sent them with a driver as opposed to taking them to the station anymore. It was a small comfort that she didn’t have pretend to give a caring goodbye. In her hurry to get out of the noise, she’d completely missed any and all familiar faces around her. However, she couldn’t miss the voice of a familiar and altogether comfortable person. Stopping and turning on her heel, a bright grin grew onto her lips as she noticed Andromeda coming closer. Without hesitation, Helena pulled the other girl into a hug, “Andy! I’m so sorry, I didn’t even see you” she greeted. Pulling back, she looked over the older girl carefully before asking, “How are you? How was your summer?” Sure, she’d seen Andromeda a few times over the holiday - there were more than enough events they had been forced to attend - but she hadn’t been able to properly catch up with the older girl without being watched by their respective parents. “Tell me you’re as excited as I am for this term to start up?” she asked, only partially teasing.

“I’m short, I get it.” Andromeda laughed, hugging Helena back tightly.  “Generally uneventful. We got a new house elf since I last saw you - can’t even remember his name, I feel awful about that, but otherwise, everything is near exactly the same as always. Yours?” She shrugged. Stories of home were either incredibly boring, or something she didn’t exactly want to talk about with others, and so Andromeda was eager as always to move past that. At least she knew Helena understood. They spent half their childhoods together, she was someone Andromeda would easily consider family. “Honestly? I am actually pretty excited. At least I don’t have to worry about O.W.L.s anymore, unlike someone here.”