ᴄʜʀʏꜱᴀɴᴛʜᴇᴍᴜᴍꜱ

❀ chapter i... ❀

"ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THIS?"

Evelyn looked up at her reflection, taking in every detail of herself, her black raven hair, her warm brown eyes... as she looked in the mirror she pondered on the question. Part of her wanted to answer truthfully, the other part didn't. Part of her didn't even know if this was a right or wrong question. Evelyn rubbed her left arm which would soon bear The Dark Mark. She looked back at her brother, careful not to show any emotion, any weakness that might indicate she was definitely not ready. She was not going to back down now, she couldn't. She made a choice and she would stick with it.

Richard's hand found itself on her shoulder, quietly comforting her as she finished brushing her hair. The brush smoothly combed through Evelyn's hair, surprisingly not tugging at knots like it usually did. Although, she had been combing it for the past half hour, not that she cared about what she looked like. Her father used to say, "appearances are everything." When people are dead, it's usually polite to still follow their advice.

You should write that down.

"Yes," Evelyn had almost forgotten her brother asked her a question, how long ago did Richard ask? It didn't matter. When you're to be recruited by a deadly group of pureblood wizards and witches, you're bound to be somewhat nervous and Evelyn wasn't going to try to defend herself upon being nervous. She was nervous, she had to get over it.

"Alles wird gut," Richard spoke comfortingly to his little sister, knowing Evelyn's German was a little rusty but she would get the message. All will be well. Those words were meant to bring comfort, so why did they bring more unease to her? Maybe it was because Richard wasn't Mr. "Sentimental and Touchy." More like Mr. "Strict and Stern." Richard meant well though, in his own weird-older-brother way.

"Ready to show them what you got?" Typical Winston, always lightening the mood wherever he went. Evelyn stood up, brushing her skirt with her hands before letting her arms embrace him, squeezing him tightly as he did the same. It was a competition they made up years before, to see who could squeeze the hardest while hugging. Naturally, Evelyn's favorite brother was Winston. The two got along famously, always causing some mischief, despite the fact that Winston was seven years older than her. Age was just a number, and they proved that.

"You look radical in that 'fit, Eve." Winston twirled his little sister, grinning at Richard. "If her charms work doesn't wow them, she will." Richard frowned a bit, at times he wished that his brother would stop and realize how serious life was. Evelyn wasn't going out on a date, she was literally joining a cult. A cult that could turn and torture one another if all hell broke loose. A cult that had the power to bring The Wizarding World to its knees. A cult to fear.

"Hey, Rich? Ma hasn't eaten her dinner." Conrad, the youngest brother of the Chrysan family entered the room, carrying a tray of lamb casserole that clearly hadn't been eaten. Evelyn sighed, as she was reminded yet again that her mother had been sick with grief for six years. Elizabeth Chrysan had lost her husband and youngest daughter during a scandal at The Ministry, resulting in their deaths. She had been bed sick for the past few years, leaving Evelyn's oldest brothers caring for her and the family honor.

Elizabeth's four children didn't blame their mother for not being able to be there for them. At least not a loud, Evelyn had understood from a young age what her mother was feeling. Clara was so full of life... and she was gone. Just that morning Evelyn had promised when she got back that they would play Exploding Snap and do each other's hair. You can guess that doesn't work when one person's dead.

"We'll try again tomorrow," Richard said simply, his tone resonated with frustration at hearing his mother wasn't eating. Look at the bright side, Evelyn wanted to say. Their mother was eating more than she had the first year of grieving, she barely used to eat at all. It's funny, what grief does to people.