It was a bad idea to take Nymphadora out in that weather, Andromeda knew, but leaving the girl alone with her mother... well, she knew Druella and if anything, the words closeness breeds contempt were easily a tailor-made description for their relationship as of late. No, actually, two alterations were at order here: not contempt, rather mistrust; and not as of late - Druella, Narcissa, Cygnus and nearly all her pureblooded friends had been condescending to her on a good day ever since she came back.
Simply put, she couldnât trust any of them with her child for a plethora of reasons, some old, some newer.
And so, she found herself on a platform, waiting to board the train Hogsmeade, hoping to find at least some temporary shelter from the havoc that now infused her daily life like a plummet of foul smoke.
But what was most surprising about the whole ordeal was that Dora was uncharacteristically silent, as if able to understand her motherâs concerns at the young age of one. Or sense them in the very least.
Concerned, the motherâs eyes ran over her daughterâs head as she knelt in front of the child to adjust her hat and scarf, then picked her up. Just then, her gloomy thoughts were replaced by the piercing sound of the trainâs whistle as it came to a halt on the platform. There werenât that many people on the station to begin with so she was in no hurry to make her way to the doors - no one dared travel anymore. It was sad, really, much like all the other conclusions she had drawn today.
Instead, the raven haired witch focused onto finding a seat and settling with her child. But she was merely able to sit down before she felt someone slide into the seat across from them. On instinct her eyes lifted and she stopped unbuttoning Doraâs coat mid-motion, struck frozen, when she took them in.
Amycus Carrow. That itself was warning enough because purebloods were rarely expelled and the stories that traversed the Slytherin Common room and dorms back in the day... He was nothing short of dangerous, that much Andromeda knew for a fact.
âThank youâ, she replied immediately, resolute not to show how his presence unsettled her. Merlin, how she wished the semblance to Bellatrix was not merely on the outside in times like these! Her sister, with her icy stare and pointed words could easily fend the likes of him off, no doubt, but Andromeda was no Bellatrix. Yet what she was was a mother and a mother could not afford to be weak, not with the likes of him around.
âSoâ, she continued casually, as of this was a conversation between good acquaintances, housemates even. âwhere to, Amycus?â
