The Black Sisters

forty-one

"tick tock"

The words still hung in Dorea's head, the words of Tom Riddle, he had spoken them to her at Narcissa's wedding. He was gonna try to get her to join. She couldn't let that happen. She may be one step back from where she once was but she happy just dangling her leg over the unknown.

She wandered the woods behind her house. The sun blinded the tree tops, the clouds were no help either. Her feet crunched on the twigs, she picked a flower, a daisy. It was small, with a big stem. She tucked it behind her ear and just for a moment, while she was out here, by herself, she felt like herself again. She was away from the horrors, her parents finally thought of her as okay, she was okay. She lost the anxiousness she had had at school for just a moment while the wind blew and the twigs snapped. As the daisy sat behind her ear.

"I was hoping I'd see you out here" A friendly voice called. A voice she'd recognised.

"hi Newt"

"hey there Dorea"

He smiled at the girl, no new bruises, or cuts that he could see. Dorea noticed.

"nothings happened Newt you can stop worrying"

"I am aloud to worry, you haven't been yourself"

So somebody did notice

"I'm okay, no need to be worried"

"I won't take your word for it"

"are you calling me a liar?" her voice stayed calm and friendly, her tone never shifting. Cause that's the relationship they had.

"yes, you haven't been yourself, you have been lying about how you are and a few of your friends noticed"

"who?"

"they chose to remain anonymous"

"look who's the liar now" she had no idea. They sat down on a log, next to each other though they felt miles apart.

"Dor, I got a letter from your sister"

There was a silence, both gazing into the length of the forest.

"what does she have to say?" Dorea would usually be leaping for joy bu, right now she wondered why Andie hadn't just written to her.

"she wanted to know how you are, she wanted to know if you were okay, and what house you placed in"

"why couldn't she write me?"

"I don't know" he wrapped an arm around Dorea, an arm, the only arm Dorea wouldn't have stiffened at. The only arm that felt safe. The only arm she would ever trust.

"do you think she is okay?"

"yeah they're doing alright"

"what did she name her?"

"who Dorea?"

"what did they name her baby girl?"

Right then Newt realized how much of a wall was between her and her sister. Not because of choice, because of rules. Right then he realized how much she loved her sister, how much she wished her sister were there beside her. It was all evident in her voice, how it cracked slightly. Right then he noticed what Dorea cared about truly, and it wasn't normal kid stuff, it was true connections, it was family, it was love.

"Nymphadora" he paused looking at the girl who still gazed out into the forest "Dora for short"

"I wish I could meet her, have you?"