sweet child o' mine she's got a smile, that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood, memories. where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
═══*.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.*═══
LATER THAT NIGHT, LONG AFTER (MOST) OF HOGWARTS HAD FALLEN INTO A FOOD-INDUCED COMA, ANASTASIA LAY AWAKE. She twisted and turned in her bed, impatiently waiting for the clock to tick 11.45. She understood, logically, that blindly meeting someone in the dead of the night without telling a soul could end unfavourably, but Rory and Pandora would've tried to talk her out of it.
Finally, quarter to twelve arrived, and Anastasia slowly peeled back her twisted covers, silently stepping out of bed. She threw her warmest cloak over her shoulders, and picked her boots up. Quietly, she slipped away into the empty common room to put her shoes on.
Thankful for the many years experience she had in slinking around her own home after dark proved useful as she moved silently through the shadows of the castle without getting caught, the only sound she could hear being the raging pounding in her heart.
The statue mentioned in the letter came up quickly, and whether by cold or by fear, she drew her cloak closer around herself. As she neared the statue, she found a hooded figure already waiting for her. The figure stood up, removing their hood.
The dim lighting made it difficult to make out any of the finer details of their face, but she could recognise the long, chestnut curls from anywhere.
"Andromeda." She exhaled, bolting straight into Andromeda's awaiting arms for the first time since the train on September first. "I've missed you so much!" She said. "I tried so hard to find you, but I've never been able to."
"Oh, my love." Andromeda sighed, pulling back out of the hug. She cupped Anastasia's face in her hands, taking in her features. How had she let time pass so much? Her baby sister was so grown now. "I've missed you so, so much too. I'm so sorry that you've never been able to find me. Our..." She stumbled on the word. "...family surely have many people watching our every move, making sure we don't see each other. I didn't want to get you in trouble."
"But seeing you is worth getting in trouble for!" Anastasia insisted fervently. "I would get in trouble every day for as long as I live if it meant I still get to see you. Nothing's the same at home anymore, and I don't know what they're going to do over the holidays." She shook her head, tears suddenly filling her eyes. "I'm scared Andy. I love Mama and Papa very much, but... I think they mean to kill me." Her bottom lip trembled as she tried to contain her sobs.
"Come here, my love." Andromeda pulled her back into another hug as Anastasia's tears started to fall. The guilt tore her apart from the inside out, but she shoved it away- far away. "I'm going to get you out of there one day, I promise." She said. "As soon as I graduate, and Ted and I get our own house, I'm going to take you and you'll live with us."
