#misselectrablack

Ted froze, hands sunk halfway up to the elbows in dish water. Someone had knocked and it wasn’t Dromeda. He knew her knock and this wasn’t it. He grabbed the tea-towel from its hook beneath the sink, and took easy steps into the hallway. 

Had there been a time when a knock at the door hadn’t triggered an underlying feeling of terror? Ted could barely remember. Too many threats had been made in the years since he and Dromeda had married. Too many people had died during the war because they hadn’t taken threats seriously. It was a dangerous thing to open your front door. Ted would not be one of those people. He would not see his family killed because he’d been fool enough to think prejudice ended with the war. 

He wiped his hands dry, then slung the towel over his shoulder, drawing his wand from his back pocket. His mind was racing. What if Drom’s hurt? The question danced front and centre in his mind. Upstairs, Dora was singing, unaware that someone had arrived on their doorstep uninvited. Childhood ended the day you realised your parents could no longer protect you.. Dora’s childhood wouldn’t end today. Ted placed one hand against the door, leaning in to peek through the peephole. 

“Electra?” His voice broke with surprise. And pain. It was painful to look at her, and if it was painful for Ted, he could only imagine what it was like for Drom.  The war had torn the Black family apart. But it was over, and here was Dromeda’s cousin on their doorstep. All Ted’s senses told him to turn her away. Sirius was the last Black to turn up on their doorstep and look where that had lead them? But there had to be hope. A chance to mend, rise from the ashes. Otherwise, what was it all for?

“Just a minute,“ he said, unlatching the chain on the door. But he paused before turning the knob; took a step back, pulling out the drawer of the vanity Drom had found at the car boot sale, with its row of hooks, now laden with hats and scarves and umbrellas. He closed his hand on the secrecy sensor--no lies, no deceit--slipping it into his pocket. 

We’re past the point of spoilers now, right? || @misselectrablack || Not Accepting

“Knock yourself the fuck out.” He snaps back - because honestly - he’s fed up. Fed up with his mother, fed up with his sister, fed up with his cousins. Fed up with his whole family - but especially the girls, because they seemed to be the most mentally unstable of the bunch. 

@misselectrablack

Remus felt a stir of excitement as he returned from the bathroom to survey the array of books spread across the table in the library that he and Electra had commandeered for the evening. He had a solid two feet of parchment filled and the last foot he needed nicely outlined. He simply needed a few more good footnotes to summarize the importance of Latin in Ancient Runes despite their numerical roots. Not only did he feel accomplished, he was having fun working on the assignment with someone equally curious about the more mundane complexities of the subject.

Remus tutored many students and usually he felt he was operating on a different level from them--and then there was James and Sirius who could’ve been brilliant if they just applied themselves. Instead, he had to sneak off to complete the work they deemed unnecessary. Electra wasn’t like that. She had even added a section to her own paper about how Ancient Runes developed in relationship to the other languages she spoke. Remus was impressed by her mastery. He slid back into his seat beside her grinning ear to ear. “Did you find the word you were searching for?” He asked.

Remus settled into the seat beside Electra on their first day of Ancient Runes mostly because he didn’t recognize any of the other students in the class. Although things had become tense between Electra and Sirirus, he figured it was best to stick with someone familiar. He hoped she didn’t hold her brother’s departure against him (maybe James though; that he could understand). He waved hesitantly at her before dropping his gaze back to the open course book and empty parchment he was arranging on his desk. “I can’t believe so few students signed up,” he commented to her without looking in her direction. 

Severus hated group projects with a burning, searing passion.  Even if they were allowed to work with others from their own house, which wasn’t always the case depending on the class and the mood of the Professor.  He wasn’t much liked within Slytherin in any case - he was that greasy half-blood twit, although that certainly didn’t stop quite a few of the fifth and sixth years from frantically rushing to him right before their potions exams, acting as if they hadn’t been spitting words and glares of derision at him all year.

Electra Black wasn’t one of those aforementioned students, but he didn’t quite know anything else about her - except for the fact that she was related to Regulus and to Sirius, which was enough to make him at least a tad more wary than he already was anyways.

Both of the, however, were quiet workers - and Severus thanked Salazar for that, he was terrible at small talk (or just talking of any kind).  Instead, the two of them sat slightly reclined on one of the massive couches in the Slytherin common room, about a dozen books spread out between them as they skimmed for information - anything relevant at all - to their assigned essay topic.

“Find anything yet?”  He murmured, thinking about looking up - and then quickly deciding against it.

“Have you ever known me to talk about anything that’s just short term?” he frowned at her. Offended that she would even think so. When he was committed, he was committed. The only thing that was fleeting in his life was girls. “I’m just saying, if I do join the Dark Lord it will be forever and I am very much considering to have power, stability and a place in this world forever.”

“That’s not good reason to let you win.” he shrugged and gave the younger Slytherin a smirk before his attention went back to the cards shuffling on the table between them Exploding snaps was such a childish card game but he had nothing better to do it would seem. Noticing two identical cards showing he made a quick move to be the first to tap the card with his wand. “You have to be quicker than that, Black.”