“Ah, Brenton Avery,” Bellatrix said with a grin. “I know I should be talking about him, but I’m quite certain he hates me. I mean, it’s fair, I’m not the nicest to him. Or anyone, really.” In Bellatrix’s mind, though, that made someone weak. If they couldn’t handle her, why should she tolerate them? “He’s good for the Death Eaters, sure, but he drives me insane. I know he’s not much younger than me, but sometimes being around him feels like babysitting. So much energy in one person. It’s maddening.” Bellatrix blew out some air. “At least he’ll commit to some chaos. I’ll give him that.”

“She’s definitely complicated,” Adonis said, mulling over her thoughts about the woman for a second. “I appreciate that she’s willing to fight for her family. Fight for her nephew. I know that feeling well, and I resonate with it. Then again, she does have a murky sense of right and wrong. These days, I find myself in that situation as well, so I suppose I really can’t fault her for it.”

It didn’t take much convincing to get James outside after a snowfall. He loved the winter, even though it made quidditch a hell of a lot harder. Still, something about bundling up in the cold weather and doing festive activities made his heart warm. Once he was dressed head to toe in winter attire, James laced up his boots and excitedly took Mary’s hand, pulling her outside. The moment they set foot onto the snow, James did not hesitate to take a snowball and playfully toss it at her, running away and dodging any return fire. 

Picking a spot for their snowman was perhaps the most important part. It would ideally be somewhere with a level surface, and where everyone could see it. Though it took a few minutes to find the perfect spot, James sprung into action once they did, helping Mary by rolling the largest part of the snowman first, which was the base. Mid roll, James had fallen forward into a mini snowbank, which of course was hilarious to watch, so he hadn’t blamed Mary at all for laughing. “Think it’s funny, do you, Macdonald?” he teased, picking himself up and dusting off the snow. “I think I have something even funnier. Come here!” James lunged forward toward her, just missing her as they ran around in the snow trying not to topple over. 

It wasn’t an opinion Lucius would ever publicly give, but he didn’t actually mind werewolves. They were uncivilized brutes, of course, but they were useful tools in the Dark Lord’s quest to create a better, purer world. He’d implemented several attacks where the sheer strength they could generate was an incredible asset.

Name someone who’s failed you. What did they do wrong? How do you feel about them now?

“I’ve never been abandoned so I can’t answer either your first or second question.”  I don’t think I’ve been abandoned just overlooked. When you push enough people away with being so busy with work that you want to do people tend not to remember you. God I hope I haven’t been abandoned.