𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧.

he  couldn’t  really  explain  it   ;   how  nauseating  it  started  to  feel   ,   crimson  painting  his  hands  one  minute   ,   and  colorful  markers  staining  them  the  next   .   he  was  dancing  on  a  line  between  life  and  death  .   you  see   ,   rabastan  grew  accustomed  to  watching  the  life  leave  someone’s  eyes   .  rigor  mortis  was  a  word  he  knew  well   .   the  monster  would  easily  shut  down   ,   forgetting  all  those  bullshit  emotions          but  then  saoirse  and  malachy  would  laugh  and  suddenly  he  was  thrown  back  into  the  present   .   he  was  getting  whiplash   .   still  he  showed  up   .   it  was  like  clock-work   ;   rab  never  broke  a  promised  meeting   .  so  after  saying  goodbye   (   hesitantly  ,   as  it  would  seem   )   ,    he  shut  the  door  and  turned  to  leave   ,   his  gaze  steady  after  noticing  the  middle  black  daughter   .   “   andromeda   ,   ”   he  replied   .   his  gaze  fell  down  to  the  items  in  her  grasp  and  he  couldn’t  help  the  curiosity  that  sparked  in  his  eyes  .   “   you’re  still  here   .   ”   it  was  surprising  to  say  the  least   .   he  figured  she  would  have  rushed  off  the  moment  the  funeral  was  over   .

and  it  meant  she  knew   .    so  his  gaze  narrowed          not  with  the  intention  of  being  rude   ,   though  rabastan  could  rarely  control  that  distinction   .   but  was  she  aware  of  the  parentage   ?   harper  adored  andromeda   ,   so  it  would  make  all  the  sense  in  the  world  that  she  would  tell  her   .   but  would  she  tell  her  family   ?    did  she  even  speak  to  her  family  anymore   ?   rabastan  left  the  funeral  too  early  to  notice   ,   and  he  didn’t  care  much  for  gossip   .

“  shame   ,   ”   he  smirked   ,   a  light  scoff  falling  free  .   “  you  were  home  free  .  ”

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣

               andy  had  never  understood  what  her  best  friend  saw  in  rabastan.  to  andromeda,  he  was  just  a  reminder  of  the  trapped  feeling  that  had  grown  like  weeds  inside  her  ribcage  and  choked  her  lungs  and  stopped  her  voice.  rabastan  lestrange  was  bad  news.

               ❛   —  i’m  here  for  harper,   ❜   she  said  bluntly,  though  that  was  clear  enough  from  the  fact  that  they  were  standing  outside  harper’s  apartment.  she  left  the  implications  unsaid:  i’m  not  here  for  you.  i’m  not  here  for  my  family.  she  was  here  for  harper.  and  so,  it  seemed,  was  he.  without  his  family’s  knowledge,  she  was  sure.  there  was  no  way  the  other  lestranges  knew  of  their  two  bastard  heirs  in  that  apartment,  born  to  a  blood  traitor,  no  less.  but  andromeda  knew.  not  that  she’d  breathe  harper’s  secret  to  anyone,  of  course,  but  he  didn’t  need  to  know  that.

               how  delicious  it  felt,  having  power  over  him.

@medablack​

❛    okay, this game isn’t funny anymore. tell us where all the forks are. ❜ 

❛   party pooper .  if you MUST know , i’ve hidden them from the kid. he tends to grab things, little stinker. pretty sure you can find a couple above the fridge, next to the knives. careful though.  ❜

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣

               andy  hadn’t  expected  to  find  herself  here,  really.  but  she’d  also  expected  to  be  back  in  ireland  now,  and  that  hadn’t  happened  yet,  so  …  she  had  to  find  ways  to  spend  her  days  somehow.  which  is  how  she’d  ended  up  staring  at  her  mother’s  gravestone.  she  wasn’t  wearing  black,  and  she  hadn’t  brought  flowers,  or  done  anything  a  daughter  was  supposed  to  do  when  visiting  her  mother’s  grave.  a  disappointment  even  in  death.  

the sheer fear in her voice, all too familiar to alice, only made the hairs on the back of her neck stand erect and an unsettling feeling began to simmer in the pit of her stomach. why in the world andromeda was reacting so ardently at the mention of thaddeus was beyond her, but some small part of her brain, the one that understood how there were many negative aspects about her boyfriends personality, took this trigger and ran with it. had he snapped at her before? made a snide comment that the beautiful brunette could not forgive, like the many he had tried to play off with alice?  ❝ he’s my boyfriend. are you… is something wrong? has he done something to upset you? because i promise he’s not terrible, sometimes he has a way of really getting ahead of himself with the things he says but he means well. his family is just quite passionate and he, um.. should we go?  ❞

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣

at the change of the girls disposition, alice tilted her head to the side slightly as she mused over the reason why her boyfriends name had caught her attention.  ❝ um, yeah. thaddeus bletchley? he’s quite close with the rosiers so i would assume that’s how he knew druella ? he really didn’t speak much on the reason why, just said it would only be appropriate to come. he’s around here somewhere… ❞ the blonde continued, glancing back over the brunette’s shoulder in search of the familiar butch frame.  .  ❝ would you like to say hello? ❞

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣

 ❝  ANDY, of course.  ❞  alice nodded slowly, the name registering immediately. even though her time with sirius was shortlived, she’d clung to the details of his life desperately when she’d imagined their future together, mindful of what subjects were safe to breach and which were painfully off limits. his kind cousin with similar world views and a heart of gold, definitely something she remembered clearly.  ❝   of course…  ❞ the blonde waved off andromeda’s sweet words as she shifted her weight from one leg onto the other, slightly uncomfortable with the mild praise. truth be told, she’d dreaded the ordeal entirely. not only did she not know druella, she couldn’t say she agreed with any of the ideals she stood for and though alice didn’t have ALL of the gory details regarding her boyfri-… ex…sirius’ past with his family, the knowledge she did have sufficed when forming an opinion. if her current beau hadn’t insisted, there was little chance she would have shown up.  ❝ i have to admit, thaddeus really deserves that credit, he was really moved by her passing.  ❞

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣

               for  a  moment,  every  muscle  in  andy’s  body  went  still.  her  heart  seized.  she  found  herself  glancing  over  her  shoulder  like  a  scared  rabbit.  but  she  stopped,  and  shook  herself  internally.  it  couldn’t  be  the  same  man.  thaddeus  wasn’t  an  uncommon  name  …  right  ?  this  girl  was  so  young.  so  …  full  of  light.  how  could  she  have  known  him  ?  she  found  herself  glancing  down  at  alice’s  hands,  searching  for  the  ring  she  had  once  worn.  it  wasn’t  there,  thank  god.  because  it  couldn’t  be  him.  it  couldn’t.  andromeda,  and  by  extension,  the  black  family,  had  insulted  thaddeus  bletchley  in  the  most  humiliating  way  possible  when  she’d  fled  the  wizarding  world,  and  their  engagement,  without  a  word.  he  wouldn’t  come  here,  to  the  funeral  of  the  mother  of  his  ex-fiancé.  he  wouldn’t.

               …  but  she  had  to  be  sure.  

“ you’re sorry for my loss? ” she asked, looking up at his sister, eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. “ she was your mother too, andromeda. ” though even from a young age, narcissa had known that her older sister and her mother had a very strained relationship. they were siblings, but they didn’t have much in common, personality wise — while narcissa spent most (if not all) of her time, trying to make her mother and father proud, andromeda never seemed to care if she disappointed them. having grown and matured substantially over the last decade or so, narcissa now knew that andromeda had probably dealt with a great deal of inner turmoil as both a child and a young adult. she would never admit it out loud, but she felt sorry for her sister, she truly did. maybe if their parents hadn’t been so hard on her, she wouldn’t have felt the need to run away.

while she was pregnant, it had been hard for narcissa to come to terms with the fact that her older sister wouldn’t be there to meet her first (and perhaps, only) nephew. she had also been afraid, the prospect of becoming a mother at such a young age had scared her. and while bellatrix and lucius had done what they could to ease her nerves, she had only wanted andromeda. andromeda — her older sister, her best friend, the only person who would truly ever know her, inside and out. wrapping an arm around draco’s midsection, she pulled him close, leaning down to plant a kiss on the crown of his head. you’re doing this for him, she reminded herself, to protect him. shifting her gaze, she looked up at her sister once again, attempting to keep her features as emotionless as possible. “ and who are you saying goodbye to? me or mother? ”

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣

               andromeda  allowed  herself  a  small  smile,  more  sad  than  bitter.   ❛   —  i’m  not  sure  she  would  have  agreed,  towards  the  END.   ❜   she  knew  well  the  price  of  leaving  the  black  family,  and  she  knew  narcissa  knew  as  well.  she  didn’t  know  for  sure  whether  or  not  she’d  been  blasted  off  the  black  family  tapestry  yet  for  breaking  off  her  engagement  and  running  away,  but  druella  hadn’t  been  the  forgiving  sort,  and  so  her  hopes  weren’t  high.  well.  she  wasn’t  really  sure  what  she  was  hoping  for.  she’d  known  the  price,  and  she’d  left  anyway.  and  she’d  do  it  again,  in  a  heartbeat.

      A dry, bitter laugh escaped his lips at her insistence that he had done the right thing by leaving. Maybe, it was the RIGHT thing for Sirius to do for himself. But, where had he left Regulus? He knew the way that life was behind the closed doors of his family home. He knew what would happen to his younger brother if he left him in that house. Still, he was able to walk right out the front door without giving it much of a second thought. The burdens that once resided on his shoulders placed on his brother’s without much care. The consequences of those actions leading to a possible deadly result—all because he had been SELFISH.

       ❝ It was the right thing for me… maybe… but where did that leave Reg?  ❞ He spoke. The former Gryffindor tried to ignore the tears that threatened to well up. Sirius Black had never been what one would call a crier. But, it was EASY to shed tears over his brother. The guilt of the entire situation was tearing him apart. He was supposed to be his brother’s protector. He had made the promise to Reg that he would always protect him. That was one of the other things on the long list that he had lied about over the years, apparently.  ❝ I was supposed to be the one that protected him,  ❞ He muttered.

       He glanced over at his cousin as the next question fell from her lips. Without much hesitation, he nodded his head in response. He needed the DISTRACTION from the muddled thoughts and guilt that clouded his mind. 

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣

funerals were supposed to be sad. they were supposed to create a safe space for people to grieve, to come to terms with the death of their loved one. druella’s funeral, on the other hand, seemed to have turned into another event entirely — there were some people mourning, of course, but most of those in attendance appeared to be almost joyful about her mother’s passing. 

narcissa and druella never had what one would consider a normal mother-daughter relationship. everyone (well, most everyone) in the wizarding world knew about the tremendous pressure that cygnus and druella placed on their children; to say that the most noble and ancient house of black expected nothing less than greatness would be an understatement. it was no secret, however, that narcissa had been her mother’s favorite. though not for lack of effort on her part — she had spent much of her childhood (and the entirety of her adolescence) doing everything in her power to make her parents proud of her. 

and she had no intentions to begin embarrassing her family now, especially not at her mother’s funeral. so, she sat with draco on her lap, surrounded by friends and family, trying (and failing) to ignore all of the drama happening around her. though, it was hard for her to ignore the shift in the atmosphere — something (or someone) had clearly captured everyone’s attention. 

at the sound of her name, narcissa took her eyes off of her son, glancing up at the person who had spoken to her. pursing her lips together tightly, she gave andromeda a quick once over before cocking an eyebrow in amusement. “ andromeda. ” she replied, bitterly. “ i would say that it’s lovely to see you. but, that would be a lie. ”

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣

              it  was  remarkable  how  even  four  years  later,  even  with  a  child  in  her  arms,  cissy  was  still  the  same.  and  despite  the  abject  bleakness  of  the  day,  andy  had  to  bite  back  a  smile.  she’d  had  that  same  angry,  pursed-lip  look  on  her  face  at  eight  years  old,  when  andromeda  had  arrived  home  for  christmas  after  her  first  semester  at  hogwarts  and  narcissa  was  furious  she’d  been  left  behind  at  home.  the  memory  made  her  sister’s  words  sting  all  the  more,  because  unlike  that  day,  andy  doubted  her  sister  would  forgive  her  within  a  matter  of  hours.  she  had  to  wonder  if  her  sister  would  forgive  her  at  all.

               everyone’s  eyes  were  on  her.  she  could  feel  it.  she  had  to  remind  herself  that  it  didn’t  matter  what  they  thought  of  her  –  after  today,  she  never  had  to  speak  to  any  of  them  again.  still,  she  had  to  fight  back  the  urge  to  save  face  with  a  cold,  cutting  remark,  the  sort  of  remark  their  family  was  fluent  in.  keep  it  civil.  keep  it  honest.  hold  your  head  up  high,  and  turn  the  other  cheek.   

ted couldn’t help the small chuckle that pushed past his lips as he shook his head, offering her a shrug in return, seemingly unbothered by the mood swings she was currently exhibiting. hell, when he’d attended his own mothers funeral, he was far worse, so the idea of her apologizing for the grief she was trying to process seemed comical. it wasn’t her fault he just happened to be a git.  ❛ you lost your mom. no need for explanations. i would apologize but… hey, again… i didn’t know her.    ❜ the young man crossed his arms, glancing around for a glimpse of his roommate/date , unsurprisingly not able to locate him.  ❛ right, sirius and therapy don’t exactly go hand in hand. he just had other shit to tend to and i guess it was as good of an excuse as any to come. i tend not to ask questions where his family is involved, learned that the hard way. i’m ted. or theodore, if you prefer the pleasantries.    ❜

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣

alice jumped immediately somehow fearing getting caught outside like she was out past curphew, even though as an adult that lived on her own, no such thing existed anymore. as her heart settled in her chest, the blonde offered her new companion a gentle smile to indicate that she was indeed the aforementioned alice.  ❝ sorry about that, i didn’t mean to give you a fright. andromeda, right ? i’m terribly sorry for your loss.  ❞

｢  𝐟𝐭.  𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐚  𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤.  ｣