"I don't care what you say anymore this is my life
Go ahead with your own life leave me alone"

Andromeda often liked to picture what she could've been doing if her life was different. As of right now, her favorite scene to picture was sunbathing on a beach with Henri. The sky would be a bright, light blue with almost no clouds in the sky, and the waves of the ocean would roll into shore. The water would be just the right temperature, and when they were done swimming, they'd visit the local ice cream parlor.

The grey wallpaper reminded Meda that her fantasy world was too far away to reach. She brushed the fallen curls from her eyes and rested her head on her hand at the table she sat at. Sirius and Regulus sat at her sides, snickering at some joke that Meda must've missed while she was surveying the room.

Bellatrix and Rodolphus's engagement party seemed to be a reflection of who they were as people. Andromeda liked to think that her sisters weren't like the rest of her family, but Bellatrix kept proving this wishful thinking wrong. The party wasn't much of a party—Andromeda was reminded of the Hufflepuff common room party and she had to fight back a smile—it was really more of a waste of time.

After all, Andromeda could be on a beach with Henri right now.

"Meda," Sirius said, grabbing her attention as he hid his laugh behind a hand. "What do you think is stuck up his arse?"

Andromeda bit her lip to stop the laugh that threatened to bubble out of her mouth at the crude remark. It was aimed at one of the many pureblood men standing next to Orion and Cygnus. Regulus giggled before slapping a hand over his own mouth, causing Sirius to laugh quite loudly.

Almost like Sirius's laugh called her over, Narcissa traveled over to their secluded table in the corner of the room. Sirius's laugh died on his lips and Andromeda felt Regulus shift in his seat. If Narcissa wasn't her younger sister, Meda most likely would've been affected the same as they were since Narcissa modeled everything every pureblood woman wanted to be in the best and worst way possible. Yet, Meda wasn't phased by the way her sister carried herself, or by the glimmer in her eye, because they weren't always there, and Meda knew what Cissy was like without them.

"Cousins," Cissy greeted them formally, Meda pinched Sirius to stop him from rolling his eyes. "What a lovely party, don't you think?"

Andromeda constantly tried to save the two boys from unnecessary conversation, so she jumped to respond before Sirius could say something he would regret and Regulus could stutter.

"I wouldn't have expected anything less," Meda smiled in that practiced way she perfected in her mirror. "I saw you speaking with the Malfoys. How are they doing?"

"Well, you know how Mother gets when the Malfoys are around," Narcissa started.

It was true, Andromeda knew exactly what her Mother was like when they came around. Druella always made herself disappear from thin air when Abraxas and Sylvia brought Lucius to pureblood parties. Ever since Meda could remember it had been that way, and when they were forced to interact, Abraxas wore a sad smile on his face. Andromeda didn't care enough to snoop, but something was off when it came to that.

Narcissa went on and on about things that Andromeda didn't particularly care about—and she could tell she wasn't the only one in this boat for Sirius and Regulus looked as if they were going to fall asleep at the table—for a dreadful amount of time. Moments like these came around where Meda wished she could come up with a scapegoat without being perceived as brash.

Not Meda nor Regulus nor Sirius would be able to tell you what caused Narcissa to become distracted and leave them peacefully at their table, but they all simultaneously agreed they would thank whatever it was if they had known. Since they didn't however, a brand new conversation took place at the expense of Narcissa.

"Why does she have to be so proper all the time?" Sirius asked as he spun his empty glass on the table. "We're her cousins, it's not as if we care if her posture is perfect."

"Well, I care! Mother told us that-"

"Do you really believe that or-"

"Oi!" Andromeda said, making them stop at once. "It doesn't matter if you care about if her posture is perfect or not."

Meda realised her words must've come out more harsh then she intended because they both cowered under her stare. Immediately she softened her eyes and deflated a little.

"Just don't argue over something that's meaningless," Meda spoke quieter now. "Okay?"

"Okay," both boys responded at once.

They resumed a silence that settled in the air with thick discomfort. Andromeda shifted in her seat more than once, bouncing her eyes around the room to find something around the room. When she didn't find anything to focus her restlessness on, she stood up from the table, resisted the urge to mess up her cousins' hair, and started to make her way across the floor.

Her foot caught a piece of uneven flooring, but to her  luck someone caught her forearm, at least she thought she was lucky until she saw who had their grip around her forearm.

Alexander Carrow.

Meda nearly jumped out of her skin from the look he gave her. She was about to look for an escape route when Mrs Carrow and her mother appeared from behind his shoulder. Alarm bells rang in her head, yet she didn't dare move from her place as the two women prepared to speak.

"Alexander told us that you declined his invitation to go on a date with him," Mrs Carrow said, raising an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

Completely caught off guard by the question, Meda nearly started to stutter out of surprise, but she thought quickly on her feet and came up with a good enough response for the hawks that surrounded her.

"I was very busy at the time with exams and everything," Andromeda replied, smiling sweetly.

"Exams are important," Mrs Carrow nodded in approval.

Meda thought briefly about how her sister wasn't returning to Hogwarts.

"Oh, but Andromeda doesn't have any exams until the end of the next school year," Druella pointed out. "I'm sure we can work out the courtship now, so no exams are affected."

Andromeda blinked at the word courtship dumbly. She knew what it meant, she wasn't stupid, but the thought of having one with Alexander Carrow, let alone at all, made her want to vomit on the floor in front of all these people.

The rest of their conversation flew by around her as she began to become dizzy. Trying to calm herself down, she told herself the room wasn't actually spinning and that it was all just a horrible dream. She learned it wasn't a dream very quickly when her mother briskly walked her out of the room.

Druella shut the large wooden doors of the ballroom behind her, making sure only Meda and a few house elves could hear her.

"What kind of a display was that in there?" Druella asked harshly. "Were you trying to tarnish our reputation?"

"No, ma'am."

"Then why aren't you being more receptive to this courtship I've arranged?" Druella sighed heavily.

Andromeda hadn't realised until that moment that it takes both mothers to arrange the courtship. This must've been the reason that everyone had been leaving her alone since she got home for the summer. Bellatrix also must've known about it and was sent to keep an eye on Andromeda after she rejected Alexander the first time. She shouldn't have expected anything else from her older sister, but she couldn't help but feel betrayed.

"It took me by surprise is all," Andromeda said finally. "I haven't been kept in the loop with any of this."

"I tried to make it something that you could've done by yourself," Druella explained. "That changed when you rejected Alexander the first time though."

"I won't disappoint you again, Mother," Andromeda said, knowing it wasn't true.

"I'm holding you to that," Druella searched Meda's eyes for a moment before returning to the ballroom.

What the hell was she supposed to do now?

...

Song: My Life
By: Billy Joel

I ran out of prewritten chapters, which is why it took a bit longer for this update. It will be like this for future updates as well I'm afraid, I don't have a whole lot of time in my schedule to write as of now.

I can't tell you how much I love little Sirius and Regulus. They're adorable and I wish I could give them a hug.

Have a lovely day/night!

Lmao anyways thanks for reading
-teddy xx