#c;andromeda

Bellatrix Lestrange, cloaked in shadows, stalked through the bustling streets of Hogsmeade. Her eyes scanning the crowd for her target -- a Ministry worker carrying classified files. The Dark Lord needed those files, and Bellatrix, as always, was his eager pawn.

She caught a glimpse of her prey turning the corner past Honeydukes. But something else, something far more painful, caught her eye. Andromeda Tonks, her sister, stood just across the street.

Seven years had passed since the last time Bellatrix and Andromeda crossed paths, their once-close bond now shattered into fragments. Bellatrix's breath caught in her throat. A wave of longing, mixed with the bitter taste of betrayal, choked her. Her gaze drifted from the Ministry worker to her sister. It lingered there for a while taking in every detail, every little thing that had changed about her. She'd grown quite a bit despite it only being seven years since she last saw her. This wasn't the Andromeda she remembered. This Andromeda, was a stranger, and it hurt.

She wanted to scream, to rage, to lash out, to somehow force her sister to see the error of her ways. But the words died in her throat, replaced by a silent, suffocating grief.

Bellatrix turned away, the Ministry worker and his files forgotten. She couldn't bear to see her sister so utterly content. The distance separating them was not merely geographical, it was a chasm of choice, of belief, of loyalty. It was an abyss that Bellatrix had leapt into, and she knew, with a hollow ache in her chest, that it was one Andromeda would never cross.

May 20th, 10:30 am Wizarding London { @andromedatvnks }

‘Scouting’, they called it. ‘Reconnaissance’. Xeno called it bullshit. Sure, he knew that food was necessary. Knew that they were in desperate need of medical supplies for the wounded. Magic could only do so much, after all. But to go from being a main force in the charge on the ministry, to this? To this errand? It felt, to him, like he’d messed up in the eyes of Aversio but hadn’t they all messed up, messed up so badly and now he was being assigned busy work to make up for it. Chores, as punishment for breaking mother’s favorite vase. Bullshit. 

He appeared in the doorway of the Aversio safe house, already in a foul mood, and spotted his mission partner. He recognized her, but only vaguely, a face from the half-forgotten era of classrooms and castle corridors. Those times felt a million miles away anymore. As was often the case with people, he couldn’t place a name to her face, but something faint in his mind whispered of space, and stars. Galaxies? Maybe. Whatever. The glare he shot her was unintentional. Glaring had just been his resting state the last few days. He slung a burlap sack over one shoulder and gestured through the doorway as he made his way past her into the street. His jaw set firm, he sighed. “Ready to go shopping, Starshine?” The name was made up on the spot, because he didn’t much care to ask her real one. No offense to her intended. It  just felt trivial. The eye-roll that followed his words was almost as cynical and sarcastic as his tone had been. 

          With everything that was happening the last few days, Annabeth wanted to disappear. It wasn’t so much the notes that made her feel that way, but the fact that her friends were so eager to accuse her of doing such a thing. It felt so wrong, especially when she was always there for them, lending them a hand when needed.            Annabeth was sitting on her bed reading one of her favourite books. It was the only way to take her mind away of reality. And at this very moment those book characters were the only ones that seemed real enough to ‘trust’ them. While she was rapt in her book she heard someone coming in the room. She raised her eyes and saw Meda. A faint smile appeared on the ravenclaw’s face as she said, “Let me guess, you received one of my notes and now you want to sleep with me?”.