"Does everybody else got it figured out?
Does anybody else deal with doubt?"

Family was a strange topic for the four seventh years that had found solace in each other. Jack could talk about his for ages it seemed like, and Ted could too. Although, sometimes he would tear up thinking of Bobbie and her ailments. Henri had had more of a rocky relationship with her family, only really ever having her mum. She loved her mother an indescribable amount, but she often felt alone as a child as her mum had to work to provide for them. Andromeda certainly had the most tough time with her family, choosing to skirt around the topic as frequently as possible. Yet, recently, that had been difficult with Sirius and Narcissa.

Henri, in particular, had taken an interest in them both. She had befriended Sirius and his friends as they all resides in Gryffindor. James called her his idol due to her captaincy of the quidditch team. Henri had also taken the time to seek out Davina, making sure she had some friends to go to, and in that, had struck up at least an alliance. They hadn't talked about the heavy stuff yet, but Henri could tell she was growing on her.

Andy didn't mind her going out of her way to make new friends because she thought it was admirable the way Henri seemed to just adopt people into her life. However, it annoyed Andromeda that Henri knew something had happened over summer break, and wouldn't stop lightly pestering her about it.

Now, Andy realized that she would have to tell her friends at some point. She couldn't hide something like that forever, even if she was tempted to. Andy trusted the three of them with her life, the only problem was that she just didn't feel like talking about it.

She had had enough turmoil caused by her family for a lifetime, and just thinking about it made her feel a range of emotions. So, she avoided the topic entirely, silently wishing Henri would take the hint and drop it too.

They both knew Henri was too stubborn for that.

For now though, it would have to take a back burner as Ramadan had started. From October 21st through November 19th, Henri would focus on the celebration more than anything else. She had already gotten permission from McGonagall to go home for part of it, which was so terribly exciting Henri was practically bouncing off the walls.

She would pray, fast, worship, complete acts of service, and worry about everything else at a later date. Henri's light for her religion would not be dimmed.

...

Andromeda had quickly settled into her seventh-year, which was shaping up to be the best one yet. She was taking classes she enjoyed, Sirius was in the castle, her role as Head Girl took up a lot of free time, but it was time she could spend with Ted.

She knew that she really wouldn't be able to delay the inevitable for much longer, especially with the way she looked at Ted these days. Their patrols flew by, even with finding their peers in compromising positions. Andy didn't know she could love astronomy more than she did before, and yet, she was pleasantly surprised.

Although, patrols and astronomy weren't the only times she found herself next to Ted. It was almost hard to be rid of him—they walked together between classes, studied together during free periods, and walked to meals with each other as they were doing now.

Andromeda swung her arms back and forth, nearly skipping towards the Great Hall. Ted walked a little slower, just behind, and he smiled as he went—these days he couldn't really keep the grin from his face.

It had been a good day for them both so far. Andromeda had gotten full marks on the essay handed back to her, the fall weather was still not too cold to where they couldn't enjoy it, and she just felt happy with where her life was. Ted had had an amazing quidditch practice that morning, Jack had told him an incredible, belly-laugh provoking joke earlier, and how could he not be happy with Andy by his side?

Just as Ted was about to remark on the fact that Andy was, in fact, wearing two different socks, her cousin bounded up to them. Now, Ted knew only a few things about her cousin, Sirius, to the point where he had a running list in his head.

Sirius Black
1. First one in family to get sorted in Gryffindor
2. First-year
3. Friends with Henri too?
4. Chaos coordinator
5. Makes Dromeda smile

The last thing on the list was the most important in his opinion. Her family life was rough—that in of itself was an understatement—and seeing her happy about being related to someone was refreshing. He was glad she had someone, even if that someone was an eleven-year-old boy who caused him to file more than half of the detention slips.

Andromeda was sure that every time she would see Sirius that she would smile. Just a small wave in the corridors would suffice. Knowing that he was safe while in the castle walls helped her mood tremendously. Of course, it looked like Sirius struggled with sleep—his dark eye bags were very apparent, along with frequent yawns—and he had told her of harsh letters he received, but she could tell he was trying his best.

Which was probably the reason she indulged him so much.

"Is there any way to blow up the pumpkins in the Great Hall?" Sirius asked, side glancing at Ted. "Hypothetically speaking, of course."

Andy pretended to think hard for a moment before answering. She saw that Ted was looking for her to scold him, at least slightly. However, she honestly wasn't sure if she could when it came to breaking a few school rules. If someone got hurt, then it would be different, but for now, it was just a bit of fun.

"Hypothetically, you could use reducto," Andy answered, ignoring Ted's look. "But you could also blow them up with those dung bombs you used on the train."

Sirius thinks thoughtfully for a moment before grinning. He turned and thanked her, running away to cause chaos somewhere else.

"I cannot believe you just told him that," Ted shook his head exasperatedly.

"It was a hypothetical!" Andy smiled, laughing as they walked in.

...

Andromeda swore her days had never been busier, and on top of that, they seemed to be getting shorter too. There was so much to accomplish to the point where she had written a schedule on her hand that didn't look like it was going anywhere anytime soon. The ink was almost permanently etched into her skin.

Jack had requested yesterday she accompany him to the greenhouses, so she wrote him in right between doing homework and her spontaneous castle stroll. Of course, schedules can fail because life has a way of causing random events to transpire. It's what makes life interesting.

Nearly out the door of the castle, Andy is waving to her sister one moment, and stumbling into a crying first-year the second. Thankfully, Andromeda catches the girl, making sure to keep both of them on balance.

She immediately feels bad for her. It's quite obvious she's just made a bad day ten times worse because the girl is so flustered that she apologized around five times without missing a beat. Andy tries to give her a reassuring smile to ease her flustering.

"It's alright, love, I promise," Andy said soothingly. "Is there anything I could help you with?"

The girl sniffled and shook her head.

Andy silently recalls a time where she was in the first-year crying in the corridor and Quinn was the head girl attempting to comfort her. She reckoned it was probably time for her to accept the fact that she had grown into the second role.

She took a deep breath and tried her best.

"Alright, well, how about we start with names? I'm Andromeda, and you are?" Andy asked, hopeful the girl wouldn't run in the opposite direction.

"Lily," She bit her lip before adding, "Lily Evans."

Andromeda hummed and gestured to her to sit at a bench nearby. Thankfully, Lily went to sit with her instead of deciding she had much better places to be. Andy thought for another moment before continuing their stilted conversation.

"My first-year at Hogwarts was a rough one," Andy told her like it was a secret.

"Really?" Lily asked, disbelief written clearly on her face.

"Of course! I think everyone's is in some respect," Andy explained with the girl listening intently. "It was hard for me to adjust, new faces, new rules, and I couldn't see my sister."

At the last thing listed, Lily turned her gaze back to her shoes, sniffling sadly. Her cheeks were flush, which may have been from embarrassment at this point, but Andromeda couldn't tell. She waited for Lily to say something in response.

"My sister, Pet, said not t-to write anymore," Lily replied quietly, not looking up as she held up a crumbled piece of parchment.

It took Andromeda a minute to catch up because she just couldn't understand not wishing to speak to a sister. (Since Bellatrix hadn't been a sister for a while she didn't count.) Andy gathered that Pet—which she also inferred was a nickname—was older than Lily.

Andromeda couldn't imagine telling an eleven-year-old Narcissa not to write to her anymore. Except, that didn't really make a whole lot of sense since they were both at Hogwarts when Narcissa was eleven. For some reason, Pet didn't seem to be here with Lily.

Despite her bewilderment, Andy tried to comfort Lily as best as possible.

"You know," Andy started, seeing Lily turn up to look at her. "This is a hard adjustment for her too. She misses you just as much as you miss her, and that might be hard for her to understand."

Lily nodded, no longer sniffling.

"You think so?"

"I do, I really do." Andy replied, having a sinking feeling that this problem was more than just one crumbled letter. "Maybe giving her a little space would help, and by the time holiday break rolls around, you two can mend things."

Lily nodded, seeming to be in much better spirits now.

"Why don't we walk back to the Gryffindor common room now?" Andromeda suggested.

Lily crinkled her eyebrows.

"How'd you know I was in Gryffindor?"

"Your tie, silly."

Lily turned red yet again and bashfully looked down to her shoes. She didn't seem to have the confidence to look her in the eyes very much, but Andy didn't mind, and she knew Lily would find her confidence eventually. If Andy could, then Lily could too.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, don't be shy about asking me, alright?" Andy said, making sure Lily knew she had people to turn to.

Lily just nodded in response.

"And, I know McGonagall might seem scary, but she's really a very kind lady," Andy told her gently. "I've had tea with her before."

"She only ever seems scary when she scolds Potter and Black," Lily replied, saying the last names like it pained her.

Andy laughed.

"I'd bet they deserve that, don't they?"

Lily nodded her head vigorously.

"The other day we were in potions and they blew up their cauldron! On purpose!" Lily said as if she were speaking of a great scandal.

Andy shook her head, trying not the laugh at her cousin's antics. She had the intuition to know Lily would not appreciate that response very much.

Almost like he could hear his name in conversation, Sirius popped out of nowhere, startling both girls. He had a grin on his face like no other. Andy knew immediately he was up to something, but she let it slide because it would most likely be amusing eventually.

"My two favorite ladies!" He said theatrically.

Lily scrunched her nose and turned to Andy.

"You know him?" She asked, not impressed.

"He's my cousin," Andy replied, suppressing a grin when her eyes grew wide.

"How are your days going? I bet they're a lot better now that I'm here!" Sirius spoke keeping up the act.

Andy knew distantly that he was probably trying to divert their attention from something, yet she was much more entertained by watching Lily and Sirius go back and forth like their lives depended on it. She knew without a doubt once Sirius grew up a bit more, and Lily let loose at least a little, their arguments would turn into banter.

She really wishes that she'd be around to see it.

For now, she put a hand on each of their shoulders, breaking up the argument with some nonsense about being on a time schedule. Laughing quietly to herself about the disgusted looks on their faces towards the other, she continued walking Lily to her common room after saying goodbye to Sirius.

"He's seriously your cousin?" Lily asked, still not quite sure she had told the truth.

"Yeah, for better or for worse," Andy replied, shaking her head at the thought of whatever Sirius got up to on a daily basis. "I know he's a-"

"Prat?"

Andy laughed at her bluntness.

"Yeah, prat works," she paused for a moment. "But, just remember that like you, everyone has stuff going on they don't talk about—which doesn't excuse prat behavior—but it might explain it, just a little bit."

"Alright," Lily said, seeming hesitant to accept it. "I'll keep that in mind."

They arrive at the portrait soon after their run in with Sirius in good condition. Andy would tell Henri to keep an eye on her so that Andromeda was sure Lily had someone in her corner, but your first-year at Hogwarts was for figuring out things on your own and making friends by yourself. Therefore, Andy knew she couldn't meddle too much.

Andy turned to Lily, perhaps to say a few parting words when Lily stepped forward to hug her. Knowing what she needed was a hug from an older sister, Andromeda gladly accepted it and brushed off the thanks Lily also gave her.

"If you can't find me around here, then I bet Sirius could," Andy said after they broke off their hug.

Lily have her a deadpan look.

"I'd rather kiss a troll than ask him for help," She declared before grinning up at her.

Andy laughed. Those two were definitely going to be friends in the future, she could sense it.

...

Song: Figured Out
By: Ashe

Happy May!!

My exams are over now! Hooray! Honestly, I'm just so glad those are over with because I can't wait for summer.

If you can't tell, yes, I did start out as a marauders era writer! Can you tell?

Little James having a crush on Henri might be my favorite thing ever. He would literally idolize her and ask her so for help every .2 seconds. Prove me wrong, I dare you.

Lily not seeing the resemblance between Andromeda and Sirius because she actually likes Andromeda kills me. She like you're related to that? There's no way.

Lmao anyways thanks for reading
-teddy xx