look at how my tears ricochet @anxstasias - Tumblr Blog

Posts

did you hear that [ ANASTASIA NOTT ] will be attending the Black Ball during the coming weekend? They recently arrived in London for the social season and we will be excited to see if they make a splash this year. I heard that they are currently working as a [ SOCIALITE ] and that they have been quite successful. They always reminded me of [ ‘SIT STILL LOOK PRETTY’, ONE SPARK TO LIGHT A FUSE, LETTERS LEFT UNSENT, WORDS LEFT UNSAID, FINGERNAILS DIGGING INTO SOFT SKIN, ] and I heard that they can be [ VIVACIOUS + INTELLIGENT ] but also [ RECKLESS + STUBBORN ]. Rumor has it that they are [ WORKING AGAINST ] Tom Riddle, but you know that you can’t believe everything you hear. As far as I know, they are a model member of pureblood society.

BIOGRAPHY | CONNECTIONS | PINTEREST

#{ intro }

xofnarcissas:

—

Narcissa felt a little all out of sorts. She supposed having a toast lead by a man she pretty much detested. But, she had to at least try to look happy. And she supposed she could try and feign being lost on the fact that she was in the newly wed phase. Either way, it was not a great moment right now. She was wondering if she could disappear. But she knew that with the minster having mentioned her that that would not happen. And so, she had to pretend to be having a good time.

“Oh…. thanks….” She murmured with a smile. Not many people had the opportunity to say congratulations. But that was mostly because they had eloped, and so not shared their wedding with the wider world. If she was honest, she actually quite liked it that way. Narcissa hadn’t really wanted to share their special day with a load of people she didn’t like or know. The elopement had worked because it was just them, and Andromeda. And she had loved it.

She just raised an eyebrow with a shrug. “I can’t blame you….” She mused. “I mean not like we gave people much notice it was happening.”

---

Ana found herself watching Narcissa’s face closely. She looked tired, distracted even...she wondered if it was just the impromptu tribute or something else that was bothering her. Maybe it was just that married life didn’t suit her as much as she had hoped it would. Narcissa seemed like the romantic type, and her elopement spoke to that fact.

“Indeed,” she agreed, “Running away and secretly getting married is quite the scandal amongst these circles. You’ll have people talking for years about the time Lucius Malfoy stole away in the night and married a Black sister. And the fact you’ve gotten away with it too. Quite impressive.”

She titled her head, looking closer at her peer, someone who she ought to consider an ally.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You don’t look so well.”

#{ narcissa malfoy }

pandoramalfoyx:

Pandora lets Anastasia guide her through the crowd without much thought to it. She doesn’t have to be so careful when Ana is around, and she can trust Ana to know what’s best, to always be paying careful attention to the world around them. Ana was so graceful, and so perfect. But Pandora knew that she was careful, too. They all had to be in their own ways. Like how Pandora could never quite be herself except around a select few people.

She glances over again at the thoughtful sound that Ana makes, her words starting and stopping again as she drifts off and seems to fall into careful consideration. It makes curiosity spark bright in Pandora’s mind. There were big thoughts inside that brain of Ana’s, and Pandora wanted to find a way to learn them all. She had an urge to know every atom of the woman before her. She hated the idea that Ana might be trying to pick her words carefully, that she might not tell Pandora every thought that was on her mind.

The words that eventually came did seem like only half a thought. But she adds more, voice turning carefully quieter so that no one but Pandora can hear her. It makes Pandora’s heart beat a little bit faster, the idea that they might be saying something dangerous right now, that someone could hear these words and think that one or both of them were against the Minister.

And maybe they were. Because the speech he made had upset Pandora in more ways than one. Because she didn’t believe in blood traitors or the supremacy of their people. Because she found the muggle world fascinating. Because everyone they were supposed to hate was just a human being, at the end of the day. She kept herself out of politics, she never spoke out because it wasn’t allowed where she stood in society, but she could admit to herself in her own mind that she found it all distasteful.

“More and more violent by the day.” She nods, and the concern is there in her voice. She rests a hand on Ana’s arm, careful. “I don’t like it either. I wish it wasn’t happening. But you and me both know that they can get away with anything. There isn’t any way around it.”

---

For the past few months, Ana has felt a small fire growing inside her chest. She didn’t know whether it was grief or anger or something else. But at times she felt like if she opened her mouth and it would come pouring out of her and she could destroy everything. It made her want to destroy everything, to blow up her life. She could leave pureblood society behind, devote herself to trying to bring down the Minister, give herself to a righteous cause. But she also had the power to go to the Death Eaters and tell them everything, carve herself out a place in Lord Voldemort’s regime by uncovering the last resistance holdout. But she saw her brother’s face in her mind’s eye and she knew she wouldn’t do that. She could not align herself with the side who had torn her family apart. Even if she might find herself in a more advantageous position.

So instead she stayed careful, because that was what she had been raised to do. And she knew Pandora as having the same internal struggle. And she knew Pandora struggled with it more than Ana ever had. Because there was a whole other side to her best friend that she had to lock away because their peers were too narrow minded to think women could be anything other than prim and proper. Pandora had a million beautiful and amazing thoughts inside her that she couldn’t share. Whilst Ana felt mostly empty.

She could see her best friend was genuinely distressed and once the wave of reckless temptation had passed, she knew this was not the place to be having this conversation.

“I know, I know you don’t,” she said soothingly, and there’s a part of her that wishes she could tell Pandora that there might be a way, even if the odds wee slim to none. There’s an urge in Ana to be gentle that she doesn’t feel around anyone else, “I know it might seem hopeless but...but things never truly are. Okay?”

That felt like the most she could say without treading too close to the truth. She tried a small smile and diverted their topic of conversation.

“It’s not the most fun party we’ve ever been to, is it? And I don’t think sneaking off inside the house is on the cards,” she said, “Maybe we can leave, you can come back to my house. Just like old times, when we were girls.”

#{ pandora malfoy }#// this is so unnecessarily long i don't know why i do this

alectocr:

––––––

–––––– alecto always liked anastasia a little bit more than some of the other women she had been forced to socialise with for most of her life. she blames it on them being introduced young. alecto and anastasia were peers in the truest sense, the same age, and their families had been close enough when they were children that they had basically been…. friends? she wasn’t sure if that was the right word, but it was an easy explanation. after a few years as young girls and seven years of school, plus everything since they graduated, alecto felt she knew her well. and she wanted more for anastasia, wanted better for her in life. she wanted ana to feel as powerful as she did.

“there’s always someone left to fight, my dear ana.” she said with a sigh. “the minister once told me that dissidents are like a hydra. you tear off one of their heads and three more are sure to spring up in it’s place.”

anastasia’s smile was vacant. but alecto knew she had more inside her head than that. alecto’s smile in return is a sharper thing, and she rather forcibly puts an arm around anastasia to lead her on a walk of the gardens. “it’s been such a long time since we spoke. you’re doing well, aren’t you? no one’s giving you any trouble without your brother around? because if they are, you need only point me in their direction and use me as your deadly weapon, ana.”

---

Sometimes Ana felt like her and Alecto were two sides of the same coin. So similar in so many ways. But they had never been close. Nothing like the bond she shared with Pandora. But there was something connecting them, tethering them together, a certain understanding that came from their shared backgrounds, their shared ages and social circles. It did not take much for the other to feel as though they could start peeling back the layers of the other, once they got talking, and reveal what was underneath.

Which was why it had been so long since they had spoken. For all the things she understood about Alecto. There was one she could not get her head around. If t was sympathy for the cause of the Death Eaters and participation in their activities, that she could have understood. But the fervour with which Alecto had aligned herself with the Minister was incomprehensible to her.

“I’m sure you know far more about it than I do. It’s a clever analogy though.”

The mention of her brother is enough to make Ana feel as though something cold and sharp has lodged itself between the gaps in her ribcage. The feeling lingered, almost distracting her from the firm grip now leading her into the labyrinthine garden.

“I’m as well as ever, all things considered” she says, straining a little to force a smile. Her grief feels like a private thing, something that ought not to be shared in public, “There’ll be no need to be using you as my personal bodyguard. Though I’ve heard you’re getting quite skilled in that department if my ears do not deceive me.”

#{ alecto carrow }

xofnarcissas:

—

Narcissa hadn’t been expecting the mention in the speech from the minister, and really it kind of rocked her. Could he know they were secretly against them? Surely not. They were good at hiding the secret. She supposed she should have expected something from the Dark Lord though. He was creepily close to her new father-in-law. It didn’t mean she had to like it though. And she certainly didn’t like the gift he’d given them. But they couldn’t refuse it, and now they would have to put it up somewhere where he could see it when he inevitably dropped around. Narcissa was dreading it.

She was walking around, trying to find her sister, when she heard a voice. Oh. Had she bumped into someone. “Oh?” She mused, looking at the other. “I didn’t realise…”

---

Narcissa seemed distracted. Perhaps to be expected given the Minister had hauled her and her new husband up in front of everyone. No doubt a small punishment for their clandestine nuptials. There was a part of Ana that felt sorry for them. But another - the part of her that felt the Malfoys didn’t play their parts as double agents particularly well - that mustered up only faint interest at the spectacle.

She knew Narcissa believed in the cause earnestly. And having practically grown up around each other, she felt some kind of kinship with the woman standing in front of her. But she always wondered if they only saw this as a part they could play, a bit of fun to liven up the dull lives they’d all been born to lead. What had they ever really lost or sacrificed?

“I wouldn’t lose that if I were you,” she said, genuinely meaning the words that came out of her mouth, “Congratulations by the way, I don’t think I ever said so.”

“I should have sent a card or something. Such terrible manners on my part,” she said, much less genuine this time.

#{ narcissa malfoy }

pandoramalfoyx:

Seeing Ana beside her is always a breath of fresh air, always makes her shoulders relax just a little bit, because it means that she’s reached a port in the storm. They can face anything when they’re doing it together. And Ana is one of the few people in her life who is always happy to see her.

She nods her head at Ana’s words, squeezing her hand in return. “Some shade sounds like a good idea.” She says, linking her arm with Ana’s and leading her toward the more shady area of the garden. They’re free to do whatever they like now, for the most part. Tom Riddle had his moment in the sun, and now the order of the day is socialising with the other blue bloods.

“It’s just a little gauche, isn’t it? The painting, I mean.” She says, with her voice tilted a little bit lower, something private just for Anastasia to hear. She knows she can say pretty much anything to the woman in front of here. There’s no fear here that Ana will think Pandora is… well, she doesn’t know. What do people think, when others are critical of their dear Minister? “Muggles in their place. Its nastier than people usually are at events like this.”

---

Ana was conscious of making sure they were sufficiently far enough away from the crowd of people who were now mingling. Not that she thought Pandora was likely to say something that would raise suspicions. She was kept mercifully far away from Ana’s world of whispers and lies. But Ana preferred not to feel like she had to keep glancing over her shoulder.

“Mmm,” Ana murmured thoughtfully as she thought of the large painting that had been gifted to Lucius and Narcissa, the distaste on their faces remarkably well disguised, “I think...”

She paused, wondering how much she should say. She never usually censored herself around Pandora. It was not how their relationship had ever worked. It was not as if either of them had ever been particularly bought into pureblood ideology. It was just a given fact of their world. But criticism felt incriminating now she had something to hide. And she did not want to tempt Pandora into getting involved in the Society.

“I think the Minister is in favourable company. People can speak their minds here,” she said carefully but couldn’t stop herself from adding, “They’re getting bolder.”

She dropped her voice to a mere whisper, the truth coming so easily when it was her best friend she was speaking to.

“You must have seen the papers, the attacks are so often now, they don’t even try to hide who’s doing them.”

#{ pandora malfoy }

who: open to all

when: some time after the speech

where: the riddle house

After leaving Pandora and giving her parents the slip, Anastasia had spent most of the party, slipping between different groups of guests, pretending to be interested in admiring the horticulture whilst trying to catch snatches of conversation. She knew she ought not to pass up the opportunity to be surrounded by some many of the Minister’s inner circle, that she ought to be making conversation rather than just eavesdropping.

She turned round to face the party again, scanning the garden over the top of her champagne glass, trying to pick out someone to approach. After a few seconds she realised that the crowd seemed slightly thinner than it had when she had been watching the Minister give his speech. She supposed people may have drifted inside, but she doubted the Dark Lord operated an ‘open house’ policy.

She was trying to pick out the precise faces that were missing when she felt someone brush past her arm and something land on the grass by her feet.

“Apologies” she said, though she felt she was quite obviously not at fault. She reached down to pick up what they had dropped, “I think this belongs to you.”

#{ open starter }#{ event; the riddle house }#orphic;starter

pandoramalfoyx:

location: the riddle house time: after the speeches status: open to anyone

Another day, another party. At least this one wasn’t a full blown ball, Pandora thought. She found more casual garden parties much easier to navigate, especially because there was much less dancing involved. Not to mention, her dress wasn’t quite as suffocating today. Even Pandora had to admit that the lavish and sprawling gardens she found herself in today were beautiful things. There were so many flowers, and she could see greenhouses in the distance. It made her wonder if Tom Riddle was in the habit of brewing his own potions. Such a collection of growing things would be a helpful tool for a man who wanted to do something like that.

She’s a little bit enchanted by him as he speaks. He’s so full of passion, and she can see the fact that he’s a little annoyed no one got an invitation to the new infamous Malfoy wedding. The gift he had given to Lucius and Narcissa however… Pandora shivered at the thought. Grindelwald was a dark wizard, through and through. He had made it his mission to irradiate and subjugate muggles. Pandora didn’t like the idea of a portrait that used to belong to him hanging in anybodies home.

She’s drifted off a little bit as she thinks about it, curious and a little sick in her stomach. So she doesn’t notice it when someone starts talking to her. She’s startled by it when she realises, jolting out of her reverie and looking at them finally. “Oh, I –– Pardon me. I missed what you said. It’s a little warm today. Can you repeat that for me?”

---

Through the crowd Ana finally spotted possibly the only person she wanted to see at the party. Her parents had been overjoyed to receive an invitation, seeing it as a sign of forgiveness for the sins of their son. Alexander’s death may have cast a shadow over their family and seen them shunned in private, but he was never publicly declared a traitor and the Nott family had never been anything if not simperingly sympathetic. Which meant Ana had no hope of not attending.

She weaved her way through the crowd until she stands at Pandora’s elbow. She has that faraway look on her face that Ana knows so well, inquisitive and thoughtful and she knows Pandora’s brain is working through some internal dilemma.

“I said, I’m glad you’re here,” she smiled, reaching down to squeeze her hand quickly, “It is quite warm, why don’t we go find some shade?”

“And you can tell me what you were just thinking about,” she adds, genuinely interested and perhaps a touch concerned, as she always is when she gets a sense of discomfort from her friend.

#{ pandora malfoy }#{ event; the riddle house }

alectocr:

–––––– alecto was thrilled as always to be allowed to spend time at lord voldemorts home. it was an honour, even for those who counted themselves among his circle. alecto was a death eater, through and through but she was still excited for every chance to get close to him. he was going to change the world after all. and oh, alecto was happy to watch the world change. she was even happier because she knew that soon she was going to have the time of her life stomping on the necks of some rebels. the news that people have been working against voldemort was horrifying, but it meant that the death eaters got to have the fun of hunting them down. she just needs to play her part here at the gathering before she can run off and have the real fun, and that means making smalltalk, something more horrifying than any dangerous dark artefact that alecto has seen.

“it’s a beautiful event, isn’t it? the minister has such perfect taste.” she muses, with a light voice. “and that speech. so inspiring, wasn’t it?”

---

She was in the process of plucking a flute of champagne off one of the hovering trays that were making their way through the garden when she heard a familiar voice beside her. She recognised Alecto Carrow without having to turn to look at her.

“Impeccable,” she agreed. As much as she was aware she had been looking up at the man responsible for the death of her brother, his choice of food and drink was rather good.

“It was certainly rousing,” she mused. There had been no doubt that the speech had signalled a wind change in his approach, akin to a call to arms for his supporters. She had no doubt word would travel back to the Orpheus Society quickly, “The Minister certainly seems in a stronger position than ever. I find it hard to imagine there can be many of these dissidents and undesirables left.”

The thrill of saying something she knew to be false was only matched by the knowledge that she was saying it to the face of a known Death Eater. She paired it with a vacant smile, playing the part of the vapid socialite she was known to be.