The Love of a Thornbush

A New Wand - Chapter Eighteen

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The next few days spent with Andromeda were pleasant, if a little strange.

We spent time leisurely in her flower garden, burrowing seeds into the ground. I enjoyed myself, even if my company was a little... Off putting. It seemed even as we shifted the dirt to place the conduits of life, Andromeda planted seeds of her own in her mind.

Andromeda was formulating a plan, which she knew would take time. Even so, she couldn't help but sneak a glimpse and subtly lick her lips at the sight of what little innocence her sister had yet to steal.

Her honey-brown eyes seemed to glow with a strange expression of... Captivation? I wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it unnerved me.

"Andy?" The older witch looked up from her coffee and absent-mindedly smiled. I took a quick bite of the toast in front of me, watched her eyes implore me to continue, and swallowed before starting on "is there uh... Any chance we could take a trip to Diagon Alley? I've missed my wand for months, yknow. If I'm to go back to Hogwarts I'll need a new one..."

Her smile was soft, and her chocolate eyes even more so, until she saw the nerves on my face.

"Why are you nervous?" Anxiously, I rubbed at my wrists. I saw the gears turning, and suspicions begin to creep inside her mind.

"I said-" she reached across, and took my hand. My eyes flew up to hers and saw the darkness that plagued her whole family burning below the surface. Obsession, Lust, Rage. All of it ran in her blood, no matter how much she denied her urges "-what about leaving this house makes you so nervous?"

Her demanding tone sent a shiver down my spine. Andromeda, with a moments silence, began to twitch at the corner of the lips as she observed my quiet anxiety.

"No..." She mumbled, a little sneer beginning to erupt across her gentle face. It terrified me with the resemblance "I don't think it's safe for you to leave just yet, my dear"

At her utterance, my heart began to race. Was i claustrophobic? My breathing laboured, Andromeda had changed in my mind. She wasn't the kind hearted motherly woman I'd met. Her brown waves had lengthened, curled and darkened, rosy cheeks becoming pale as snow.

Bellatrix! I knocked the chair I'd been sitting on as I threw myself away from her, her mouth opened to speak but all I heard was a mad crackling like a demonic fire in hell.

My back hit the wall, and the- the witch moved closer at a terrifying speed. In a flash, she moved to grasp me. My wrist instinctually lashed out to shove her away as my screams of terror filled the tiny house.

"NO! GETOFFMEGETOFFME-!"

her hands hit my shoulders, and shoved me down til my backside hit the kitchen floor. My head flung backwards in my panic, and smacked rather hard against the tiled wall. The attacker's featured blurred into a blend of violence and curly hair.

A few slow blinks lead to a hand on my throat, but gentle. It didn't choke me but merely caressed me. My chest heaved in panic, and my eyes scattered all over the place.

"Calm down, love"

Andromeda's amber eyes stared into mine with intensity, and her soft brown waves lapped against her peachy skin.