gunpowder

i. meeting

Cassandra Lindale comfortably sat on the living room of her small home on the outskirts of London with a three year old girl straddled in her arms. The girl slept soundlessly as the woman with shiny golden hair cascading down her shoulders elegantly remained still, watching her daughter's chest rise and fall in a steady pace. There they were, the small family of two who shared an incredibly spacious— and rather humid —home, sitting on the living room, the oldest member of the family staring into the green fields that surrounded the warm house.
Cassandra grew rather tired as she hummed a soft and tranquil tune under her breath to sooth her child, albeit it ended up soothing her as well. A yawn escaped her rosy lips, shutting the humming short and welcoming the sleeping child and the tired mother into a comfortable silence; a soothing silence that would drive the woman in her early thirties to sleep. However, the woman remained awake as she combed her fingers through the girl's equally shiny golden hair, although the child's hair was cut just above her shoulders, the tips pointing upwards nicely. The woman's hair, however, was long, reaching her hips elegantly.
Silence was ripped when an individual knocked loudly on the home's door, waking the small child up. The mother shook her head, motioning the girl upstairs as she pulled out her wand from her sweater's pocket. The girl's wide and innocent green orbs stared into her mother's dark ones, her eyes filled with confusion. Cassandra flashed her a reassuring smile and ushered her upstairs. The child did as ordered and ran upstairs, her footsteps echoing down softly.
After some moments of simply waiting for silence once again, Cassandra finally approached the door, her wand held high, ready to attack at any moment if necessary, however, the woman dropped her arm back to her side with a sigh of relief after recognizing the defined cheekbones and equally dark orbs of her sister.
"Merlin's beard, Cass," the dark-haired woman cursed as she stepped into the home, cleaning the soles of her combat boots in the welcoming mat, "I'm not a stranger. You don't have to point your wand at me!"
"But you could be!" the blonde retorted as she shook her wand in the air, casting no spell whatsoever. "You know what is happening right now. I have to take precautions."
Cassandra's sister couldn't help but sigh at her sister's ignorance, but she reminded herself that the blonde woman did live far away from the commonly wizard-populated towns.
"As if someone would come to this lonesome place," the dark-haired woman— who seemed to be younger than Cassandra —huffed as she leaned against the wall. A sigh escaped Cassandra's lips as she stared into her sister's eyes, clearly tired.
"What's going on, Siena?" The blonde asked quietly as she strolled through her living room, gathering the small child's toys.
"What? Can't I visit my older sister?" Siena scoffed before rolling her eyes, not even convincing herself from such. "The war is over, Cass. The Dark Lord has fallen."
The blonde stopped in her tracks as she still held pillows, a stuffed bear and a couple of blankets. Awestruck, the woman blinked a couple of times before shaking her head in disbelief. "Can't be," she said, albeit her words came out as a mere whisper.
"Yes it can," Siena assured her as she approached and took some of the toys her sister carried, "It may sound impossible but it is true. The ministry declared the end of the war on the Prophet today. There were some casualties, as expected, but Cass—" Siena placed the toys on the nearest surface, her eyes glowing with excitement and impatience while her sister stared at her with an arched eyebrow and utter confusion.
"Someone has finally survived the killing curse," the dark-haired woman whispered as she pressed Cassandra's shoulders tightly in her small hands. The blonde woman stared at her incredulously, not believing the words her sister had spoken. Since her sister didn't speak, Siena took a gleeful skip towards the wooden door; Cassandra had never seen her sister so happy since she became an Auror.
"Oh!" the dark-haired woman exclaimed as she turned on her heels and faced her sister once again. "I forgot to mention. I met with Molly the other day. She gave birth to two amazing red-headed twins three years ago. I think Amelia will be attending with them to Hogwarts," Siena smirked and swung the door open, disaparating right in front of her sister who seemed to be in complete shock.