rebelle du noire

          Standing still, there is an ache that racks the bones of an exuberant heart. Her voice, honeyed, was a good fortune he hadn’t been expecting this night. It was often he only crossed her in halls, tender orbs spotting a girl whom disputes his prior thoughts. Each enjoyable moment erased when ice sears his fragile sureties. And now, here again, he hears a voice that plans to offer a gentleness between friends. Ted, albeit muddled, doesn’t let chaotic contradictions steel his heart. Rather it remains open, beating faster as she drew closer. Never. He’d never deny her; even if that meant casting a calamitous spell to his own heart.

          The scent of surrounding plants engulfed her, Andromeda finding a strange comfort in the leafy forms. Ted, her beacon of light, stepped forward towards her as she carried on trailing previous footsteps to find his mortal form. Her head muddled, confusion streaking in sparkling pulses that push and pull, a strange game of who Andromeda should magnetize herself to. They’re friends, true friends, that’s what she needs...it’s what she wants. 

          there is a change in andromeda’s voice, which causes for the blonde to look up. soft nudge, from her friend, making greta to turn her full attention back to the girl. quill laid down next to the parchment and her doodles. they spoke of romance made for fairytales yet there was hidden meanings underneath. small fragments of truths and worries which greta would not have noticed had they not been friends. & even if she knew, that andromeda was made up of barriers and veils, hiding her true core –– greta would never judge her for it. always patiently waiting for her friend to tell, to dare to confide.

          Her eyes flit carefully around the room, searching for onlookers that might suspect her of something. It was no great crime to be friends with Greta, but people still whispered of her visit to the badger’s common room. 

There are shadows resting behind the glowing perfection of one Andromeda Black, but the blonde doesn’t push it –– for that is not her place. Instead she reaches out, letting digits touch the other girl’s hand in comfort. As if she was saying, without using any words, I’ll be here when you need me. The movement a sign of UNDERSTANDING laced with good intention, a small smile upon her lips before retreats her hand to twirl a blonde tress around her finger.

          Pause, breathe, remember you’re not alone. Andromeda held back a whine, an urge of pain in her stomach. Even with Greta, there was still a barrier, a thinly veiled secret that detached herself from the inevitability of a breakdown. She knew she could be stronger, more put together...a model of her mother’s imagine, if only in short bursts. But Greta’s hand offered comfort, understanding and for a small moment, Andromeda felt a lighter weight. 

         “I never cared much in that regard. Good literature is good literature, no matter who wrote it. I liked Wuthering Heights alright, but I couldn’t really get into the romance. Catherine and Heathcliff just seemed too unlikeable to me I guess. Estella and Pip are interesting though – And I suppose I can see why you might relate to them in some way…”

          “Oh, of course! My mistake, I was referring to Great Expectations. I must admit that in recent days, my access to such classics has been somewhat prohibited. It’s clearly starting to show,” Andromeda responded, waving a hand in the air at her own foolishness. “I relate to it in more ways than you could possibly believe.”

          Mingling with serpents & refusing any prior bias, it had not been entirely unexpected that Greta had found a friend in Andromeda Black, even if, Greta herself, was a badger. Having a brother who had been sorted into the Slytherin house had enabled her to see the snakes in a different light than others. CHOOSING to see them as humans without pre-constructed prejudice. However, as Andromeda spoke petite blonde’s brows furrowed in worry. 

                  There was no FEAR in speaking to Greta, no prejudice. In many ways they similar intellect, and had common friends...although that was less known.    

          A warmth grasping his bicep prompts the tilt of his head. Curiosity was stomped out before it could come, however, her melodic voice solving all questions that can be raised. So he stands, hands smoothing out the wrinkled fabric of his shirt as he does. “I could not agree with you more.” Hand outstretched, he motions to indicate his readiness at her move. 

               A smile curved the corners of her lips, amusement from Rab’s ego that she’d come to know over the years. It never surprised, but certainly caused the occasional chuckle. She removed her hand, and turned to once again walk out of the commonroom. “I couldn’t stand to look at these castle walls for a minute longer and I really want some sugar quills.”

        “ Well.. I mean, you’re only making an ARSE out of yourself when you assume, right? Not all people are what they seem to be. ”

               “Quite right. I’ll admit that I have come across comic books before, but I have not taken the time to read them. But it shows good character that you don’t simply judge people, all too often people do.”

          Having escaped the hustle of first years, ones prone to hasty retreats in efforts to reach classrooms on time, he exhales. Kind eyes few shut as air wheezed past skin, the wintry embrace against flamed flesh welcomed. It was not often enough he escaped his routinely duties. And, when he did, it was a momentary blessing as he couldn’t keep children waiting for tutoring sessions. Reaching out, fingers clutch the door to an emptied greenhouse with promise. Many ran with high spirits to the astronomy tower for solitude where they’d undoubtedly find another. Scarcely anyone thought of here, a place held dear to his immaculate heart. 

               It wasn’t a hunt, when she knew the location. Andromeda would be caught in a lie, if she claimed to have not snatched a glance at the tutoring sheet, in hopes of finding a certain Hufflepuff. She had little time for anything, and a moment free ought to have been spent in good company. Little confidence filled her, when her thoughts fell onto future choices. But her heart could not help but beat a little harder, when her hand fell on the door handle of the green house. She internally hoped that he might be there, since she felt the absence of him even more in the long hours spent with snapping vipers. 

Well that’s what people think when they make them, but they sure last a hell of a lot longer than a day. 

“All actions have consequences.”

OPEN

“Am I meant to believe that?”

there had been a SILENT understanding between the two belles for years. meeting in the library under the pressure of ambition and hard-work & whispering about different solutions to their academics problems. but the meetings had also become something MORE. a friendship found amidst academics & study breaks taken when their heads seemed ready to burst with information, and, of course, the silent understanding of wanting to achieve and prove one’s worth. 

               Greta was unexpected, the same way that most of Andromeda’s friends were. Aside from Rabastan and her sisters, there were no Slytherin’s that she tolerated without an internal grimace. Her cheek was so often caught betwixt her teeth as she fought to staunch the arguments against their ludicrous, supremacist points that boiled her blood so easily.  

        “ Well– NO, you probably don’t. But, I didn’t want to just assume that you didn’t. ”

           “I suppose there is some goodness in your lack of action to make a predetermined judgement on me.” 

heaps of book before her, greta sighs loudly as she yet again gets stuck on the different philosophies of magical theory. names of great philosophers clouding her mind as she tries to see what they mean through a tirade of complicated words that mean nothing. glancing over at andromeda and the snargaluff the blonde offers a smile. ❝ neither are the great philosophers of magical theory. merlin, it feels as if my whole head is ready to collapse! ❞

               Andromeda ran her fingers through her inky roots once again, for perhaps the seventh time in the past half an hour. The material they’d been given to read did not roll of nicely, it was hard on the brain and exhausting on the body. She felt similar to how Greta had described and simply nodded in agreement before pulling herself away from the plant. Her legs were crossed, one leg over the other as she moved herself closer to Greta. “Gladly,” she responded all too eagerly. 

               He was quiet, calculating, attempting to picture the metaphor and just how tight those chains would be. Not that his beliefs had changed. They never would. However, serving those beliefs was far more different than holding them. His mother didn’t serve a church, but she still slept with her good book beneath her pillow. He felt as though that should be enough, that he shouldn’t have to dangle from his father’s puppet strings to serve a purpose, that he shouldn’t have to sacrifice his happiness to sate his beliefs. Of course, no one else would see it that way. “And so?” Stepping closer to her, as if fearing someone would overhear, he leaned in, eyes firm, sincere. “If you are to be chained regardless, what are you to do? In the end, what can you live with?”

                  “You live in limbo. There is no happy ending, just the knowing that no matter what you do, you’re doomed. There is always something to lose, whether it’s your soul or your sanity is undecided.” There was no stable choice, no right path. Both were shrouded in darkness, a long mist covering a clear end. Her life was like an endless tunnel of twisting paths, a left and right with every step taken. “We all have our chains, eventually I’ll learn to live with mine.”