#iandromeda

where: a bathroom in Hogwarts castle when: Spring 1971, near the end of Alice and Andromeda’s 7th year who: Alice and @medasgalaxy​

In truth, Alice had ducked into the bathroom to avoid Frank Longbottom. It was a weird thing to do, going out of her way to avoid a fifth year, but really it was for his own good, out of the goodness of Alice’s own heart in fact. She wasn’t worried that he’d ask her out again, he’d gotten the message the first time like a good lad. The problem was all his other friends were lads, too, and whenever she passed them in the hall they’d bring it all up again, laughing and teasing all in good fun the way teenagers do. She just liked to spare the poor kid the extra embarrassment, so she kept her head down, when she could, and sometimes she would duck into the bathroom when she couldn’t. 

Alice was planning to just mind her own business for a few minutes and then head back out until she heard the absolutely unmistakable sounds of someone vomiting. There were few things worse than vomiting, as far as run of the mill illnesses go. At least, if you asked Alice’s opinion, or even discussed the topic in her hearing, it wasn’t like she was fussy about being invited to a conversation. And never let it be said that she wasn’t a sympathetic person, because she was. Alice Lestrange, despite what her last name might bring to mind, was a Hufflepuff to her core. She was kind, and she was helpful, and she wasn’t going to let some poor girl toss her cookies without someone to hold her hair back.

“Everything alright over here?” Alice poked her head around the corner to the stalls, and caught sight of the very generic knee-socks and skirt combo of the Hogwarts uniform under one of the doors. “You need anything? Glass of water? A scrunchie?” Alice always had an excess of scrunchies on hand, because she was forever either losing them or giving them away. She was pretty sure they were the best thing muggles had ever invented, and she was always happy to spread the good news. 

Alice was absolutely gobsmacked when she pushed open the stall door, which hadn’t been properly locked, and saw none other than Andromeda Black knelt over the toilet bowl. They got on well, or all that Andromeda came from the same world that Alice had literally run away from in the middle of the night, but they weren’t exactly a sharing secrets sort of close. Andromeda was a big step above most purebloods, not nasty and full of herself like the rest of her family, or even Alice’s, but she was a bit more quiet and academic whereas Alice was distinctly loud and jock-ish. A prime example of this was when, despite the selfless impulse behind her pushing open the door, Alice couldn’t help but crack a joke. “Merlin, Black. I didn’t know you partied this hard.”

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.”