the ties that bind us. (Andromeda)

[Evan Rosier]

Evan was hiding from his fellow campers. A few Hufflepuffs were getting a bit too chatty with him and one even mentioned inviting him to sit with them at lunch. The Slytherin was nothing short of baffled; he was quite sure he had hardly said more than three words during the entire hour class that he had actually attended (because someone would notice if he skipped EVERY activity). Oh, Thaddeus would laugh himself silly if he caught wind of the fact that Evan was suddenly, impossibly popular with the badgers.

So he had skipped lunch in order to avoid his new friends and when it was time for the afternoon activities to start he convinced himself to just stay put… which wasn’t a difficult task. He was sitting comfortably on the trunk of a large tree that had fallen down some time ago, nestled into the woods that surrounded the camp. Far enough in so that passerby would not see him, but close enough so that he could still hear snatches of what was happening among his peers.

He felt around in his pocket and gave a small sigh of relief as his hand closed around his cigarette pack; lighting one up without hesitation. The Slytherin felt at peace; the grounds were silent, he wasn’t being forced to do anything unpleasant, and it would be another hour until he had to decide whether he would finally get up and move or just stay put until dinner. And his good mood might have remained intact… but luck, it would seem, was not on his side that evening.

[Andromeda Tonks]

Godric, her feet hurt. Her ankles felt like there were huge water balloons stuck on each side, her back ached... oh, and her belly was now so round that she felt like she'd swallowed a watermelon whole. It had been a bad idea to sign up to be an adviser at camp. She had wanted to stay on and work as long as she could, but at this moment, walking around in the woods was pretty low on her list of things she wanted to be doing right now. She would have preferred to be home, sitting on the couch, while her husband rubbed her feet and told her she didn't look like an enormous blimp.

Still, she tried to keep a positive attitude. After all, this was for the kids, and some of them actually seemed to be enjoying it. And she had a relatively easy job--she was planning the end-of-camp talent show. It was fun... just exhausting. Especially when she had to be on her feet all day.

Finally, though, it was time for a break, and she went for a little walk, planning to sit for a while on a fallen log overlooking the lake. But as she approached the edge of the woods, she smelled smoke. Not campfire smoke... cigarette smoke. Frowning, she walked a little deeper in search of the source and as she approached, she could make out a dark-haired boy sitting on a log. "You know, you're not supposed to smoke--- Evan?" she said, recognizing the boy. Her cousin, Evan... just another person who probably wasn't talking to her. She was, after all, the family outcast.

[Evan Rosier]

If he had been paying any kind of attention to his surroundings, the young Slytherin would have heard the footsteps moving toward him. Unfortunately, his eyes had been closed and his head had been leaning back against the tree that, most conveniently, had grown directly behind the fallen tree. His Father would surely sneer at his total lack of observation! Still, by the time he came to realize he wasn’t alone, it was far too late to make a run for it. So he sat in silence, wondering if he was about to be told off, or if another student was perhaps hoping to share his hiding place.

But then he was taken by surprise for the second time in less than thirty seconds. Stupid of him, really, not to expect this. Dark eyes looked up at the very pregnant, and very familiar, woman. Andromeda Tonks; his Herbology Professor, now the adult helping to run camp, and most importantly… his cousin. You’re DISOWNED cousin, the nasty little voice inside his head corrected. Evan had to remind himself of that each and every time he saw her these days.

It wasn’t simple. Not long ago he had loved and cared for Andromeda as much as any of his family. But one day he woke up to find that he no longer had her in his life. He was supposed to behave as if the woman never existed; his affection for her aside, it was rather difficult when she taught at his school! “Professor,” he finally managed to say after a long silence. Evan made an attempt at his usual blasé attitude, but somehow he didn’t think he was doing a very good job. “Sorry, won’t happen again,” he added, making a show of putting out his cigarette and tossing it.

[Andromeda Tonks]

Andromeda winced at his stiff tone, as if he was trying very hard to be casual and yet formal and somehow failing at both. She could practically read his thoughts, and she couldn't deny that it hurt. Yes, she'd hardened herself to this type of thing ever since she had chosen Ted over her family, but she was pregnant, after all, and prone to being a bit sensitive.

Although she didn't regret her choice, there were still things about her family that she missed. Well, more like certain people that she missed. She didn't miss Bellatrix, or her mother or father. She missed being able to be publicly acknowledged by Narcissa (although they continued to meet in secret). And she missed the children, who she still had hope for. Sirius, of course, defied the family edict and talked to her anyway. But Regulus, and Evan, and some of her other distant cousins, she missed terribly. She wanted better for them, for them not to become hardened by the family's strict rules. But looking at Evan right now, she feared it was already too late.

"Professor?" she repeated sadly. "Is that all you can say to me, Evan? You know, your father isn't here, and he won't strike you down just for talking to me."

[Evan Rosier]

Though it was true that Cassius Rosier had never raised a hand against his son, that didn’t mean that the man didn’t believe in a severity of discipline that others might find… disturbing. There was a reason that Evan rarely argued with the man, and why most people found him terrifying. Evan had been punished in ways that many would consider quite cruel, in fact. Cassius’ favorite punishment was using his son as a convenient test subject whenever he started fooling around with potions. Once, when the elder man had felt particularly murderous, he had cast a curse on Evan that made the young boy feel as if every bone in his body had been broken. It was an illusion, of course, but the pain had felt quite real.

And so when Andromeda suggested that Evan should not fear his Father, the young Slytherin looked almost sarcastically back at her. “Have you already forgotten just how charming my Father can be?” He ran a hand through his hair, clearly not prepared to be reassured by her words. The dark-haired boy looked into her face, but this was a mistake; a visible spasm of pain shot across his features, pain he felt over losing his cousin. “You left us,” he shot back quietly, forcibly looking anywhere but at her. “This isn’t my fault. You walked out on us, on me, not the other way around.”

It’s what he was raised to believe, after all. If his parents had raised him to be a little more open minded, he might have seen that it was the rest of his family who turned their backs on Andromeda… the thought had flickered through his mind here and there… but to believe that was to question, not only his parents, but the entire society he lived in. “What else is there to say?” Cassius spent the last thirteen years trying to harden his son’s heart, and perhaps one day he would succeed… but as for right now, there was no mistaking the fact that Evan wanted things to be different, even if he would not admit it out loud.

[Andromeda Tonks]

Andromeda's smile was sad, bitter. "About as charming as my own father," she said, almost more to herself than to him. "And my mother, for that matter."

Neither Cygnus nor Druella had ever been physically abusive to her in any way, but they still had left many deep scars. Her mother, in particular, had a particular way of spewing venom that spread through the veins, slowly but surely poisoning the heart and soul. And she'd been the victim of it more than either of her sisters ever had. Narcissa was beautiful and perfect in every way, and Bellatrix was so much like her mother that of course she would see no flaws. Andi, therefore, could never compare. And even though she was really rather proud of being nothing like Bellatrix or her mother, it still hurt a little to know that she would never be quite good enough in her mother's eyes.

"Is that what they told you?" she asked, straightening up suddenly. "That I walked out?" She sighed softly, then leaned her aching back against the trunk of a nearby tree. "Evan, I was forced out."

And though it was true, it hadn't been without a choice. Her choice had been to either marry Rabastan Lestrange, or stay with Ted. Never mind that Rabastan, as far as she knew, wasn't even involved in the plan, and probably didn't even want to marry her. Or that she and Ted had temporarily broken up at that time. She had been heartbroken, thinking Ted didn't want her, when really he was (foolishly but nobly) trying to protect her. It should have been easy to retreat back into the folds of her family. She should have been willing even to marry Rabastan, if in fact that was what he wanted. She wouldn't be isolated from Cissa or her cousins. Evan wouldn't think she was a traitor. But what had stopped her was her mother. Both of her parents, really. If she stayed with the family, stayed with them... she'd become like them, just as Bella was already doing. So, yes, Andi had made her choice. And she'd have to live with it. But that didn't mean it didn't make her sad. It didn't mean she'd wanted to leave her sister or her cousins.