𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕊𝕙𝕖𝕖𝕡

26- Sick In More Ways Than One

"All the lights couldn't put out the dark
Running through my heart"

Loneliness snuck up on people quite suddenly. One moment, people and conversation were all that surrounded you, and the next, you were left by yourself to sort your thoughts from reality.

Of course, being alone was not the same as being lonely. One could be lonely while being in a group of people, and that might just be the most painful thing of all. To not connect with anyone around leads to unwelcome thoughts appearing, which could very well be the reason for loneliness in the first place.

Andromeda hadn't felt lonely in a while. She had grown up lonely though. Having always had her sisters, Andy was never truly alone, however, she never felt like anyone actually understood her.

Henri had been the first to cure her of her loneliness. This was the thing Andy would remember as the reason she trusted Henri in the first place. If Henri would stick by her on a daily basis, then they'd have to exchange what their lives had been like before each other. So, that is just what they did.

The only downfall to having Henri as a friend is that she is in a different house than her. Andromeda had no trouble with diversity at all, but she did wish sometimes that they could share a dorm and a common room. It would save her from many unwanted interactions.

Not that what was about to happen was unwanted, it was just something Andromeda wanted to procrastinate. Narcissa had joined her a little while ago by the fire slowly dying down, which left the only light to be a sea green glow from the Black Lake. For the time being, Andy had been trying to ignore her sister by revising, but she eventually got bored and looked up just as Cissy was about to speak.

"I'm sorry for snooping in your life, Meda," Narcissa spoke sullenly.

"Well, you should be," Meda replied, too tired to care that that was not the right response.

A little ashamed of her outburst, she turned her eyes from her sister to the paper about potions in front of her. Meda was nearly able to grab her quill to add onto it before her sister tried to speak again.

"I heard from Bella," Narcissa started, gaining Meda's attention with the pause. "She wants to see us over the summer."

That statement surprised her a great amount since she had assumed Bellatrix had blacklisted her ever since the fall of her engagement. The thought had hurt quite a bit—Bellatrix was her sister after all—yet she had grown so used to the idea that she hadn't thought about going to her sister's house over the summer.

"We can floo over like we did last summer then," Meda said in response. After a moment's hesitation, she continued. "What's the matter? You seem sad."

Andromeda was right, of course. Narcissa had been sniffling since she left her dorm, and there were red rings around her eyes. This time, Cissy looked away.

"I'm still your sister, you know," Meda said, desperately trying to get things like they once were. "You can talk to me."

Narcissa sighed deeply before turning back towards her sister. Her eyes were what gave away her sadness; like her sadness were plants and her eyes were the garden, it grew its roots there.

"Father is ill. He's been admitted to St. Mungo's," Narcissa said bluntly.

Andromeda wasn't sure what to say because she hadn't had any emotional attachment to that man since her younger years. After all, being physically ill wasn't the only way the man was sick.