#andromeda002

Caitriona had been raised to be a very confident person. Both of her parents wanted her to believe in her ability to achieve anything she set her mind to, and she did. It helped that Caitriona always expected a high level of performance from herself, no matter the subject, and she wasn’t afraid to work to meet those expectations. So when she moved into her townhouse and found herself living without a house elf for the first time in her life, she simply resolved to learn how to cook. After all, she’d excelled at potion-making in school, so how different could cooking be?

It turned out, very different. Caitriona had purchased a variety of cookbooks, confident in her ability to follow instructions, and found herself entirely at a loss. Even purportedly ‘basic’ cookbooks had featured directions that she could make neither heads nor tails of. The whole experience had been beyond infuriating, and Caitriona was sure if she’d been a lesser person, she would have given up entirely. But Caitriona was not a quitter and, more importantly, she knew when to ask for help. So she’d dashed off a quick letter to Andromeda requesting assistance.

The truth was, Caitriona didn’t know many people who cooked for themselves. Her first thought had been Benjy, but it would be impossible to ask him, or as good as. Andromeda, at least, would be familiar with the experience of suddenly finding oneself adrift without a house elf to keep things running smoothly, even if she hadn’t been as alone as Caitriona. Caitriona was confident her cousin would be sympathetic as opposed to judgmental, it was simply Andromeda’s nature, and she was excited to host Andromeda in her home. Their relationship since Andromeda’s disownment had existed mostly in the form of correspondence, with the occasional meeting by happenstance, and Caitriona missed spending time with her favorite cousin. Andromeda had agreed to visit during her next day off, and when the appointed time came, Caitriona found herself hovering in the vestibule waiting for her cousin to arrive. When she finally heard a knock at the door, Caitriona fairly threw it open. “Andromeda, I’m so happy you could make it.” The other woman was barely through the door before Caitriona wrapped her in a brief but strong hug, her excitement melting through some of her usual reserve. “I appreciate you doing this, truly.”

Vincent was feeling more than just curious after his conversation with Emmeline Vance, but unfortunately, there was little that he could do about that currently. Weddings were not the best place to garner information, he gathered. But he was a patient man, he always had been, and he could wait for another day. 

For now, though, he was still trying to find Andromeda. 

He’d been here for nearly two hours, and he had still yet to see her. Had she lied to him about attending the wedding, just so he might come and make a fool out of himself? He certainly hoped not, but he wasn’t one to discount that possibility. His search soon came to an end, though, when he spotted her just across the garden. 

“There you are.” He murmured to himself as he set off in her direction. It only took him half a minute to reach her. 

“Andromeda---” He said, uncomfortably pulling at his suit jacket. “Sorry it took me so long to find you. Are you, er, enjoying the wedding?” 

Fabian had been on the dance floor all night and at this point he was sure someone had charmed him. The only problem was, he couldn’t remember the counter-spell. This was both terribly frustrating and embarrassing. He was in the Charms Club for crying out loud, he should know the counter-spell for such a simple charm and yet it had completely slipped his mind. He had been searching the dance floor for the person responsible, but instead he noticed someone else who had been dancing just as long as he had. Thinking that perhaps she was under a similar charm, he made his way across the dance floor toward Andromeda Black. “Mind if I cut in?”