Familia Anta Omnia ¦ Astor-Shaws

[Alora Veda Astor]

October 2028

Autumn in Hogsmeade had always been Alora's favourite time of the year. Of course, seeing it snow covered in the winter was pretty, but it was never functional. Sure it was colder now, but it was moreso a crispness to the air. She could still be out and about and enjoy the autumnal colours while the dregs of the sunbeams shone during the day. Each day the hours of light grew shorter, and she had been busy in the greenhouse getting all her plant babies settled down for the winter. It was a rare weekday afternoon where she didn't have classes, and she was ahead of her other work. Six weeks into term had gone by in a blur and Alora had hardly had time to catch her breath, never mind sit down and catch up with her sister. They'd been texting of course, with the odd evening phone call but since Amy had started her studies again for the year, and Alora had resumed her teaching again they had had much time together. It had been a shift from the summer where they had lived together in the Astor family home in London and enjoyed themselves with shopping trips, and weekends in the south of France.

Alora hadn't thought that when she finally met her sister at the beginning of the year, she'd ever be as close to someone. But she hadn't quite realised how nice it was to have someone in her life again. Even if they had their differences and clashing opinions on things. Like Alora meeting their brothers. At times Amy couldn't wait for them all to be a big family. Whereas Alora on the other hand, was petrified of the idea. It would break the little bubble they had going. From what Amy told her she wasn't sure she'd get on with them, whilst also thinking of the further intricacies that Amy never thought of; it would bring their parents into Alora's orbit and she still honestly wasn't sure how to deal with all that. The emotions that came with it all, her possibly irrational fears over more practical things like would they all try to take her family home from her. She didn't like to dwell on it, but sometimes when Amy pushed it was hard not to.

For now she was content to just have a sister, and that was fine.

What was left of the strong afternoon sun bounced of her copper hair as she walked to the village. Her pleasure in crunching the dead leaves beneath her boots was almost childlike; something she rarely allowed herself. It wasn't long before she was parked at a table in the Three Broomsticks and waiting on her lunch date. As she waited, her eyes drifted over the menu, not really minding her surroundings all that much.


AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW , then andrew ethan astor-shaw join in??

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

October 2028

Amy's life had, somewhat surprisingly, settled into a steady rhythm. Her relationships with both Toby and Alora had blossomed, and Amy was quite proud of what she'd accomplished. School was another matter. She still failed to really impress Professor Burke, and frustrating as it was, her marks were slipping. Toby helped Amy study whenever he could, but there were some bits of theory that stumped even him. And he was the cleverest person she'd ever met. But it wasn't like Amy was doing so poorly that she wouldn't finish her studies - remarkably, she was middling through her classes and actually enjoying being in school for the first time of her life.

What had originally been a whim had turned out to be one of the best decisions of Amy's young life. She'd not seen her parents in over a year, having spent the previous holidays either on campus or with Alora in London. And Amy had no reason to change that. They'd never apologised for the way that they had manipulated her, or how they had hidden Alora away for almost two decades. And Amy was not quite ready to forgive. Amy thought she was getting Andrew to come around to the fact that a big part of their life was in Scotland, but never truly giving away what she knew. Alora wasn't quite ready to accept him into her life - and Amy was positively dying from keeping the secret.

Alora had invited Amy for lunch at the Three Broomsticks one autumnal weekend - and Amy had eagerly accepted. She remembered the days when Hogwarts restricted access to the village - no such thing anymore for students at LIFE. She pressed open the door and stepped into the warmth of the pub, glancing over at the crackling fire and inhaling the sugary scent of butterbeer. She spotted Alora at once, her copper hair glinting in the flickering light of the fire, and made a beeline for her sister. "Hey," she greeted, planting a kiss in greeting on Alora's cheek. She was still trying to get her sister used to off-handed physical touch. "How are you? Merlin, I need a pint," she breathed with a smile.

Alora Veda Astor

[Alora Veda Astor]

It wasn't long before she spotted Amy making her way into the Three Broomsticks. With a half wave she acknowledged her baby sister and drew her attention enough for her to make way to the table. With a brief nod, she smiled as Amy placed a kiss on her cheek and turned her head to return it with surprising ease, before she slid into the seat across from her and handed out a menu without a word. "I know. I'm supposed to supervise a study session later this evening, but today was messy and I need wine." Though a glint of mischief sparked in her eyes and after about the twenty seconds it took Amy was settled herself and taking off some of her layers; a server stopped at a the table with a pint and a glass of wine. "It's a good thing I know you well then" with a subtle nod of thanks and a smile, the server disappeared again and Alora reached for her glass of sauvignon, waiting for Amy to join her in a cheers.

"I'm fine though, nothing new as always I guess. Same stuff in work and well....." With a cautious shrug she looked down, faltering just slightly. Life was otherwise quite boring for the most part. Her love life had always been crap, despite her yearning for any sort of romantic companionship. At Amy's advice she'd tried some of the apps, but after a disastrous few dates she had been put off them for life. She had sorted of resigned herself to the fact she would in fact die a spinster, and live vicariously through her sister and her love life. Continuing drily she just gave an exasperated sigh "That's sort of it really. What about you? I feel like it's been a while since we've actually talked properly, face to face, even though it's probably only been like a week or something"

Sipping from the stemmed glass, her eyes flit about the room just enough to take in her surroundings. There were a few students in her peripherals, watching her like she was a fish out of water. An utter oddity.

"You'd swear I wasn't allowed hang out with my own sister." A low rumble of a laugh escaped her chest as her eyes rolled, full of zeal. She pointed the students out to Amy, knowing she'd find the situation amusing.  "Look..."


AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW

[andrew ethan astor-shaw]

Before visiting the idyllic wizarding town of Hogsmeade, Andrew would never have thought he’d find himself there without a real reason. This time he wasn’t planning on meeting up with Amy, as today he had found himself with time he didn’t know what to do with, and an itch to do something fun. So a day trip to Hogsmeade had been what Andrew had settled on. The town had grown on him on his visits, and it provided some unexplainable sense of calm in the middle of his busy life. Besides, Hogsmeade was new enough for Andrew to be interesting, yet familiar enough that he felt comfortable. The perfect balance for a nice day off.

Though traveling, even if it was only for a day, proved yet again to be quite taxing. Something nice, and cold to drink was what Andrew was craving. He nearly walked past the Three Broomsticks, but as he noticed what was next to his path, he felt quite lucky. Pushing the door open, Andrew stepped in. Though only a few steps in, his eyes spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. Andrew already took a step closer to his sister, a smile appearing on his face, but as he spotted a vaguely familiar-looking redhead in Amy’s company, he hesitated. Could he go say hi? Or should he leave his sister with her friend, and not bother them at all? But it would be even more awkward if Amy spotted him, and he didn’t even say a word to her? On top of that, he didn’t want Amy to think he was spying on her or anything. Was it bad that it seemed like a thing he would do? That thought barely managed to brush through Andrew’s mind before it was banished. Perhaps it had been true once, but these days he truly tried to ask before poking around matters that weren’t exactly his business. Even Amy deserved some privacy, even though she still was his little sister.

After weighing his options for a few seconds, Andrew had arrived at a decent enough conclusion. He figured it would be even weirder if Amy spotted him, so why not at least go say something. Then he could be on his way, and go back to enjoying his day in Hogsmeade, and Amy would be left at peace with this friend. As Andrew approached the pair, he overheard the redhead say something about her own sister, her words oddly directed at Amy. Andrew’s brow scrunched up a little at that, though he quickly brushed it off as nothing. He must have misheard, or misunderstood. It wouldn’t be the first time.
“Hi, Amy”, Andrew greeted his sister as he reached their table.The redhead sitting with Amy got a nod of Andrew’s head as a greeting, accompanied by a polite smile before Andrew turned his attention back to Amy.
“Before you ask, I don’t know what I’m doing here. Broadening my horizons, I guess”, Andrew laughed. He had a suspicion that Amy already found it a little fishy that Andrew was in Hogsmeade, and managed to randomly bump into her. But he hoped that she knew that not even he was that blatantly obvious and stupid.

AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW  / Alora Veda Astor

[AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW]

Amy beamed at Alora as their drinks were delivered to the table. "So you do!" she crowed with excitement. She'd taken to British culture much better than expected - it had been a whole year of living up in Scotland since she'd decided to track down the elusive Alora. Amy still wasn't much on speaking terms with her parents -- after all, a hidden sister was no small betrayal. "It's really crazy how you can't even get a glass of wine or a beer or anything at my age in America. Like, I'm not going to get super drunk all the time. I can vote and no-majes can get guns, but I can't have a drink!" Amy shook her head, her flaxen hair swishing about her shoulders. "Anyways, cheers," she added with a smile.

Though Alora faltered in regaling Amy with how her life was going, Amy was none the wiser. She had always struggled with maintaining attention, and she didn't notice how Alora glossed over any additional details of her life. "Have you gotten that new shipment of venomous tentacula yet?" asked Amy, glancing up from her drink. "Are they going to be teething again? My hand swelled up twice the size last time after I left you, she added with a pout.

Amy perked up when asked about her own life - after all, it was her second favourite topic after alchemical mandelas. "Toby and I are doing really well - he's so kind. I adore him," she gushed, her cheeks colouring scarlet as she mentioned him. It was wild really, how they'd met and fallen into a friendship and then into a relationship so naturally. Almost like falling asleep. Amy turned and glared at the group of students that Alora had pointed out. They snickered again, and went back to whispering to one another. "They probably think its weird that I hang out with a professor by choice. Even though you're my sister. Some people are so small," said Amy, waving a hand airily.

A voice behind her greeted her, and Amy nearly fell out of her seat. "Oh f-- Andrew!" bleated Amy breathlessly. She glanced nervously between Andrew and Alora, her face paling as her hands began to sweat. "Um..." she cleared her throat, summoning some of her usual bravado. "Are you sure you're not following me again?" Amy forced out a laugh that sounded unnatural even to her own ears. "Um..." she trailed off, glancing over at Alora. The awkwardness was clear in her eyes, but Amy didn't know what to say to Andrew. That they had an older sister, who had been kept hidden from them for nearly two decades? Who she had tracked down and formed a relationship with almost a year ago?

andrew ethan astor-shaw Alora Veda Astor

[Alora Veda Astor]

Alora had fallen into easy conversation with her sister, smiling as Amy confirmed she did know her well. It hadn't been long of course, but she'd grown close to the baby of the family all the same. Nodding in agreement she reached for her glass of wine and took a long sup, before raising it in a mock toast towards Amy. A small laugh did escape her at the memory of Amy trying to wrangle the last batch of Tentaculae into pots. She of course didn't have to help her, but she had wanted to spend time with Alora so she had volunteered. Bargaining it up that if she helped, Alora would finish sooner and in turn they'd both be able to sit down to dinner quickly. Amy had gotten more than she bargained for that evening though and she had ended up accompanying her sister to the on-campus medi-witch when she had gotten a nasty bite. "No, you'll be pleased to know the shipment has been delayed until the spring. But it's fine, I can work with what I have for classes for now." A small smirk grew on her face. Truthfully though, she didn't mind the time she spent with Amy. It had actually been pretty nice. Almost like a friend. It had been a while since she had had one of those. It was so easily forgotten how comfortable it could be.

She was thankful though, when Amy didn't pry into her boring life. She didn't need any probing in that aspect, or any little reminder of how non-eventful her life was. Or how she worked hard to push a certain someone else out of her mind every time she lay eyes on him. It was likely the sort of thing sisters should have shared, but Alora was new this whole sibling thing. She was used to not having anyone to share the sordid details with. In her mind, Amy simply didn't need to know. Nobody did. It was easier to keep her business to herself of course. She'd gone thirty years that way, she wasn't going to change now. She did smile a little wider though as Amy went on to mention Toby, even more so as she noticed the colour in her cheeks. "Well that's good. At least one of us is having luck with...it all" her finish was rather lame, but still she smiled quite genuinely. She had yet to meet the elusive Toby, Amy had kept him at a distance from her for now. But so far, she liked what she heard. It probably wasn't the best for a bigger sister though, maybe she should be more protective and off-putting; but he seemed good for Amy. For now she'd reserve judgement.

Her eyes had dipped down to peruse the pub-grub menu, wondering what burger or poorly made pasta dish she might eventually settle on. She'd been momentarily distracted and hadn't felt Andrew approach. Rookie mistake on her part really. Usually she was more observant; when she was on more heightened alert and would have spotted the semi-familiar face. Though perhaps she wouldn't have actually thought anything of it. He was just a face of someone she had ran into before in the village. She hadn't known it was her brother. As he stood over them, directly addressing Amy, a silent curse ran through her mind. Andrew. That's what Amy had responded. Shit. Andrew her brother. Now it was making sense as to why his brown eyes were so familiar to her when she'd met him in the village all those months ago. They were a direct mirror of her own eyes. This was her brother. The infamous domineering older brother of Amy. Younger than Alora of course, but still a presence as he stood over them. Her own skin paled further as she took him in and the realisation hit her. But it wasn't long until she was able to school her face into her well trained mask of nonchalance; a slight upturn of her lips so she didn't seem too cold, but nothing too interested, nothing that gave away any of her inner thoughts. It had only been a split second she had watched Andrew with wide-eyes, hopefully she had been quick enough for him not to pick up on it. Or Amy. It had likely been a while since Amy had seen it, she found herself weirdly at ease around her sister. She hadn't needed to cover anything up. But as Amy was floundering, something inside Alora was calling out for her to be the one that kept it together for the both of them. Even if she did have a lot more riding on it all, many more issues beneath the surface. She wouldn't let any of them rise up for now.

Instead her own brown eyes studied Andrew's profile. They shared some details. The roundness of their faces. Their brown eyes, of course. But then, his hair was so dark, and almost curly. No wavy? She frowned slightly, unable to put her finger on it. But some little spark inside her wondered was that what their father looked like. Did he get it from the Shaw side? She'd never let herself wonder what her father had looked like before. She knew she look like her mother, that's where she got her hair from. Everyone had commented on it when she was little, until Amelia had put a stop to it. As Andrew started speaking again, she was pulled away from that thought, forced to focus a little. He was talking to Amy; he had turned away after a curt nod in her direction. Sort of rude, but at least with his attention elsewhere she could watch him some more. He was saying he wasn't here checking up on her, but Alora was a little more suspicious about that. Amy had told her briefly about him; how he seemed to take his role as the oldest sibling very seriously watching over the two younger ones. Funny that it wasn't even true; Unbeknownst to him Alora was the oldest.

Glancing between the pair, she pursed her lips for a moment, unsure of what to make of him so far. It hadn't been a great first impression probably. She didn't know if she wanted to get to know him all that much, some small part of her was irrationally angry that he had burst in an interrupted her time with their sister. She wanted to keep Amy all for herself, to not upset the balance of what they had by involving others. And yet as she watched Amy struggle, something inside of her cracked and she realised she would finally have to face this head on. Now it was her turn to protect the baby of the family.

Even though every fibre of her being was telling her to get up and leave, she plastered on what she hoped was a warm, charming smile. "Andrew.." she began, hoping to pull the attention off of their sister. she also hoped Andrew missed the pointed look she shot Amy before continuing. "Amy's told me a lot about you, join us won't you?" It was framed as a question, but in reality she didn't give him much of a choice in the way she looked up at him. The years of training under their Socialite Grandmother had been beneficial in some ways she supposed. She had charm and was good a getting what she wanted, even if the other party didn't want to get it. She flashed him another smile, before motioning to a staff member to accommodate the addition of an extra place setting and ordering a fresh glass of wine; something she would definitely need to steady herself for the rest of the meal.


AMY ESMA ASTOR-SHAW
andrew ethan astor-shaw